Weisburger J H
American Health Foundation, Valhalla, NY.
Exp Toxicol Pathol. 1996 Feb;48(2-3):183-8. doi: 10.1016/S0940-2993(96)80040-6.
The Delaney Clause has been part of the US Food, Drug and Cosmetic laws since it was enacted by the Congress in 1958. It states that no cancer-causing agent, as demonstrated in humans or animals, shall be deliberately added to, or found as a contaminant in food. The FDA was charged with enforcing this Clause. Other agencies such as EPA used similar approaches with the avowed aim to prevent cancer. Legal cases have been brought against Agencies who failed to comply with this law to the letter. Since 1958, research has elucidated the main mechanisms whereby chemicals cause cancer. The leading causative factors of the major human cancers are basically known, and include smoking and tobacco use, excessive alcohol, and common dietary practices and nutritional traditions. The etiology of lymphomas, leukemias and cervical cancer may be viruses. The Delaney Clause was designed to protect against these many cancer types. It was based on the hypothesis held in the 1950s that human cancers are due to environmental chemicals. This is clearly not true for the great majority of cancers and therefore, the Delaney Clause as framed has not saved any lives, is obsolete, and should be eliminated.
自1958年国会颁布以来，《德莱尼条款》一直是美国食品、药品和化妆品法律的一部分。该条款规定，任何经人体或动物实验证明有致癌性的物质，不得故意添加到食品中，也不得在食品中作为污染物出现。美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）负责执行该条款。其他机构，如美国环境保护局（EPA），也采用类似方法，公开宣称旨在预防癌症。有人对未能严格遵守该法律的机构提起法律诉讼。自1958年以来，研究阐明了化学物质致癌的主要机制。主要人类癌症的主要致病因素基本已知，包括吸烟和使用烟草、过量饮酒以及常见的饮食习惯和营养传统。淋巴瘤、白血病和宫颈癌的病因可能是病毒。《德莱尼条款》旨在预防这些多种癌症类型。它基于二十世纪五十年代的一种假设，即人类癌症是由环境化学物质引起的。显然，对于绝大多数癌症来说并非如此，因此，既定的《德莱尼条款》并未挽救任何生命，已过时，应该废除。
