The study examined the association between food preservative intake and cancer incidence in 105,260 French adults followed for an average of 7.57 years. Participants were cancer-free at baseline, and preservative intake was assessed using repeated 24-hour dietary records and food composition databases, supplemented by laboratory analyses. During follow-up, 4,226 new cancer cases occurred, including 1,208 breast, 508 prostate, 352 colon, and 2,158 other cancers. Higher intake of several groups of preservatives (e.g., total non-oxidants, sorbates, sulfites, acetates, nitrates, nitrites and some specific compounds such as potassium sorbate, potassium metabisulfite, acetic acid, sodium erythorbate) was associated with an increased incidence of overall cancer and especially breast cancer; sodium nitrite has been linked to an increased incidence of prostate cancer. For example, the hazard ratio for total non-oxidants at higher versus lower or zero intake was 1.16 (95% CI 1.07–1.26) for all cancers, and the absolute risk of cancer by age 60 was approximately 13.3% versus 12.1%. For total sorbates, the hazard ratio was 1.14 (1.04–1.24) for all cancers and 1.26 (1.07–1.49) for breast cancer; for total sulfites 1.12 (1.02–1.24) for all cancers and for potassium nitrate 1.13 (1.05–1.23) for all cancers and 1.22 (1.05–1.41) for breast cancer. A total of 11 of the 17 individual preservatives studied did not show a link with the incidence of cancer. The authors state that