The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has rejected a proposal that would allow products containing lycopene to advertise the compound as a cancer inhibitor. Lycopene is an antioxidant found in food products such as tomatoes and watermelons.
The application, undertaken by American Longevity (AL), cites a first-amendment right to assert health claims in situations which evidence surrounding the issue is regarded as contingent. In this case, their argument relies on the influence lycopene exerts as an antioxidant, as the chemical has been associated with a reduced cancer risk.
The FDA limited AL's claim, announcing that while tomatoes possess cancer-fighting properties, lycopene-based products-such as ketchup, pasta sauce, and other tomato-based foods, do not inherit the same traits. As such, products containing the compound cannot advertise with regards to cancer inhibition solely based on lycopene.
Instead, the FDA presented precise health claims regarding lycopene's role in prostate, gastric, ovarian, and pancreatic cancer. If a product containing lycopene is to advertise itself as beneficial toward cancer risk, it must qualify their claims with these statements:
Prostate cancer: "Very limited and preliminary scientific research suggests that eating one-half to one cup of tomatoes and/or tomato sauce a week may reduce the risk of prostate cancer. FDA concludes that there is little scientific evidence supporting the claim."Gastric cancer: "Four studies did not show that tomato intake reduces the risk of gastric cancer, but three studies suggest that tomato intake may reduce this risk. Based on these studies, FDA concludes that it is unlikely that tomatoes reduce the risk of gastric cancer."Ovarian cancer: "One study suggests that consumption of tomato sauce 2 times per week may reduce the risk of ovarian cancer; while this same study shows that consumption of tomatoes or tomato juice had no effect on ovarian cancer risk. FDA concludes that it is highly uncertain that tomato sauce reduces the risk of ovarian cancer."Pancreatic cancer: "One study suggests that consuming tomatoes does not reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer, but one weaker, more limited study suggests that consuming tomatoes may reduce this risk. Based on these studies, FDA concludes that it is highly unlikely that tomatoes reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer."
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