Potassium bromate: Effects on bread components, health, environment and method of analysis: A review

•KBrO3 affects starch, proteins & lipids, ultimately affecting the bread quality.•Chemiluminescence flow injection is the suitable method for the analysis of KBrO3.•Toxicology studies have proved KBrO3 to be mutagenic, cytotoxic and carcinogenic.•Replacers of KBrO3 like Ca(IO3)2, Ca(BrO3)2, NH4Cl & Ascorbic acid are used in bakery. Potassium bromate, is an oxidizing agent and one of the best and cheapest dough improvers in the baking industry. Due to its positive effects it plays a major role in the bread-making industry. Potassium bromate has significant effect on food biomolecules, such as starch and protein, as it affects the extent of gelatinization, viscosity, swelling characteristics as well as gluten proteins; it removes the sulfhydryl group and leads to the formation of disulfide linkages and thus improves the bread properties. However, there are many reports elucidating its negative impact on human health. It is deemed as a potential human carcinogen by IARC and classified under class 2B. Due to this, countries across world have either partially or completely banned it. Numerous techniques have evolved to determine the concentration of potassium bromate in bread. This review explains in detail, the effects of potassium bromate on biomolecules, human health, environment and various methods of analysis.