Thursday 24 September 2026 · Edition of the day

Current editionPast editions →

The Skeptic's Daily

The day's biggest stories, taken apart. For each one: what is actually established, what is only asserted, the questions worth asking — and a plausibility score for the central claim, given everything currently known.

Stories
1
Average plausibility
68%
How to read the score
It rates how well the core claim is evidenced — not how important the story is, nor whether it is good or bad news.
RegionAllGlobalAfricaNorth AmericaSouth AmericaAsia-PacificEuropeMiddle East
TopicAllPoliticsConflict & SecurityBusinessScienceHealth
01HealthEurope

French study links common food preservatives to higher blood pressure

Eight widely used additives were associated with hypertension and heart disease in a large observational study.

Researchers at INSERM and Paris universities, led by Mathilde Touvier, published in the European Heart Journal an analysis of long-term preservative exposure, finding eight preservatives associated with higher rates of hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

What holds up

  • ✓Published in the European Heart Journal by named INSERM-affiliated researchers.
  • ✓The authors describe it as observational — associations, not proven causes.

What doesn't yet

  • ?That these preservatives cause hypertension is not established, by the authors' own account.
  • ?Exposure levels needed for harm are not detailed in coverage.

Ask before you share

  • →Which confounders were controlled for?
  • →Which foods account for most exposure?
  • →Should regulators act before causal evidence exists?

Sources & original reporting

  1. [1]ScienceDaily / European Society of Cardiology · Published 20 Sept 2026 · sciencedaily.com