A new state bill passed by lawmakers would ban potassium bromate, a flour additive used by many New York pizzerias and bagel shops. Owners and dough-makers are already experimenting with replacements, while critics say the change is overdue given health concer
In the back kitchen of Lo Duca Pizza in Brooklyn, Salvatore Lo Duca noticed something that didn’t sit right: bromated flour—used in the thin-crust pies his family has made for more than a decade—contained a suspected carcinogen that is banned in much of the world.
The discovery pushed the 39-year-old to tinker with the recipe his parents passed down. With a different flour in place, the results weren’t just workable—they were a selling point.
“When we started playing around with a different flour, I actually took a liking to it,” Lo Duco said. “It’s a little more expensive, but the quality is there.”
That kind of pivot is now becoming a real deadline for New York’s pizza and bagel businesses. A bill passed by state lawmakers would ban potassium bromate, and it is awaiting Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature. The proposal has split people across the dough business—some fear the change could upset long-established baking practices. while others argue it has waited far too long.
“This is an earth-shaking event for New York pizza,” said Scott Wiener, a pizza historian who leads tours of notable slice shops. “That ingredient is part of the identity of the slice.”
Employees at several stores that use bromated flour declined to comment for this story. Still, Wiener estimated that around 80% of pizza and bagel shops rely on a flour that contains potassium bromate, an oxidizing agent that reduces rest time for dough and helps produce a stronger, chewier product.
For bagel makers, that shortcut is bound up with the texture customers expect. Jesse Spellman, the second-generation owner of Utopia Bagels, said he isn’t waiting for the law to land before adapting.
“You could achieve that same bagel texture, but it’s a lot more work and it’s going to be a lot more expensive,” Spellman said.
He said he is already adjusting his family recipe, experimenting with yeast concentrations and rise time.
“It’s going to take some time to get a product that we’re happy with,” Spellman said.
Other shop owners see the ban as long overdue. Potassium bromate is already outlawed across the European Union, China, India, Canada and—starting next year—California. Some experts have also theorized that the additive’s absence outside the United States could be one reason people sometimes describe baked goods abroad as more tolerable.
“From a consumer’s point of view, there’s nothing good about potassium bromate,” said Erik Millstone, a professor of science policy at the University of Sussex focused on the health impact of chemicals in food.
Going back to the 1980s, Millstone said studies have found it can cause cancer in laboratory animals, even in “perfectly reasonable” doses.
“Most well-informed people would prioritize a long healthy life over a slightly softer and more soluble bun,” he said.
In New York, that debate is playing out even among celebrated makers. Many of the city’s most prominent pizzerias—especially newer, more artisanal-leaning shops—promote “unbromated” flour. But neighborhood slice shops still lean heavily on a General Mills flour called All Trumps. a standard ingredient since the city’s first grab-and-go pizza parlors opened nearly a century ago.
Wiener said General Mills now sells an unbromated flour for roughly the same price, though other alternatives cost more.
If the ban moves forward, Wiener argued, the disruption could ultimately improve the end product.
“Without such a fast turn around for dough production. you’re going to get more well-fermented doughs. which is going to lead to lighter pizzas that are easier to eat and leave you with less of a stomachache. ” Wiener said. “It will require more of a process. But everything will be built back better.”.
The practical mechanics of the change also matter to businesses trying to plan ahead. If the legislation passes. the bill would provide businesses with a one-year grace period to continue using the additive. plus additional time to use unexpired bags. A spokesperson for Hochul said she would review the bill.
The fallout from the proposed ban has started traveling well beyond New York. In Florida. Mario Mangilia. owner of DoughBoyz. posted a statement on Instagram saying. “Pizza in Florida is officially better than pizza in New York. ” and adding. “my grandfather would haunt me” if the shop’s dough recipe were ever changed.
After prominent pizza accounts challenged Mangilia’s stance based on health concerns around potassium bromate, he appeared to pivot.
“I’ll tell you what,” he replied to a Long Island-based pizza owner. “I’ll test some different flour out to check it out.”
For Lo Duca, that kind of experimentation is already underway. When bromated flour is questioned—and when a ban becomes plausible—the choice isn’t just technical. It’s whether New York’s signature textures can survive a chemistry change without losing the promise that built a culture one slice at a time.
New York pizza potassium bromate ban bromated flour bagels baking additives Kathy Hochul General Mills All Trumps Utopia Bagels food safety flour additives