Common preservatives used to keep food safe and extend shelf life may be linked to a higher risk of several cancers and type 2 diabetes, according to two new studies from France.

“These are very important findings for preservatives that are not only widely used in the French and European markets, but also in the United States,” said senior author Mathilde Touvier, principal investigator of the NutriNet-Santé study used to conduct the research.

The NutriNet-Santé study, which began in 2009, compares over 170,000 participants’ web-based reports on diet and lifestyle with their medical data stored in the French national health care system.