FDA to revisit approval of "yoga mat" bread ingredient banned in Europe

The Food and Drug Administration is planning to revisit its approval of the food additive ADA, the agency's top foods official announced Thursday, after longstanding questions over the safety of the so-called "yoga mat" chemical that can be a bread ingredient in the U.S. but is banned in Europe. 

Also called azodicarbonamide, the FDA previously approved ADA's use to whiten cereal flour and improve baking bread dough. 

Advocacy groups have criticized the use of this chemical in food for years, over concerns about its potential health risks. The "yoga mat" nickname comes from ADA's other uses in the manufacturing of plastics and rubbers.