Two Food Additives Have Previously Unrecognized Estrogen-like Effects. ScienceDaily March 5, 2009. Scientists in Italy are reporting development and successful use of a fast new method to identify food additives that act as so-called "xenoestrogens" — substances with estrogen-like effects that are stirring international health concerns.They used the method in a large-scale screening of additives that discovered two additives with previously unrecognized xenoestrogen effects. [ See ]