Is Convenience Slowly Killing Us?
Is Convenience Slowly Killing Us?
A New Study Finds 3,600 Chemicals in Human Bodies From Food Packaging
On-the-go eating has become the norm for so many of us today. And why not? It’s fast, convenient, and you can choose foods from all kinds of restaurants.
But what about all the packaging? It has environmental impacts and it also contains chemicals that can cause harm to our bodies.
Even cooking at home has risks. You may interact with food contact substances, such as food packaging (aka what your meat comes wrapped in, the can for your beans, or the packaging for a salad kit) and its components. Substances also get added to or applied on packaging surfaces, such as adhesives, colorants, certain uses of antimicrobials, and antioxidants.
Our modern food system is immersed in packaging and prep, whether you are ordering out or making food at home.
Now, a new study by the Food Packaging Forum uncovers the extent to which chemicals used in food packaging and other food contact articles have been found in human bodies globally, and it highlights significant gaps in biomonitoring and toxicity data.
“This work highlights the fact that food contact materials are not fully safe, even though they may comply with regulations, because they transfer known hazardous chemicals into people,” said Dr. Jane Muncke, co-author of the study and chief scientific officer of the Food Packaging Forum. “We would like this new evidence base to be used for improving the safety of food contact materials—both in terms of regulations but also in the development of safer alternatives.”
You can review all the data from the study in this interactive tool.
This free tool enables policymakers, public health researchers, food industry decision makers, and all other stakeholders to browse and search through the data, along with all of you.
The study authors compared more than 14,000 known food contact chemicals or FCCs with data from five human biomonitoring programs, three metabolome/exposome databases, and the scientific literature, revealing evidence of 3,601 FCCs present in humans, representing 25 percent of the known FCCs.
We already have evidence for a few groups of chemicals, such as bisphenols, PFAS, phthalates, metals, and volatile organic compounds, which are regularly found in food contact materials and in human samples. Many of these chemicals have hazard properties of concern and have been linked to harming human health.
For other chemicals that transfer from the packaging into the food, such as synthetic antioxidants and oligomers, little is known about their presence and fate in humans. Potential hazards of many of these chemicals have not been investigated.
These findings underscore the urgent need to bridge knowledge gaps regarding human exposure to FCCs and their potential health impacts.
“There are surprisingly many hazardous chemicals used in food contact materials, and they do not just stay there, but quite some of them reach, to some extent, the human body,” said Dr. Martin Scheringer, another co-author of the study. “This is concerning, and there clearly is a need for safer and simpler food contact materials.”
Most of the chemicals leaching from food packaging come from plastics, but not all of them. “Probably the worst one is recycled paper and cardboard,” Muncke told The Washington Post. “And I know that’s a hard one to stomach.”
Recycling paper, cardboard, or plastic for food packaging leads to nonfood grade inks mixed in next to food, she explained, adding to the chemical risks.
Food packaging from around the world contains at least 68 PFAS chemicals that can seep into what we eat. And 61 of them are not even supposed to be used in such products. This kind of packaging may include coated paper wrappers, plastic containers, and aluminum foil.
It reminds me of the problems we have with plastic water bottles. Bottled water can be a lifesaver in an immediate crisis, and it has been a lifeline for many communities with undrinkable water, but it comes with some big caveats.
We all tend to think that bottled water is cleaner and safer than what’s coming out of the tap. In some communities, that’s very true, but labels on water bottles can be confusing. They portray an illusion of virtue, with images and messages saying they are filled with water from “pure mountain springs,” when many of these bottles simply contain tap water in a fancy-looking to-go package.
The truth is we are exposed to chemicals in plastic daily, and that exposure is linked to a range of health effects from infertility to cancer.
This information is not to frighten you away from eating but to help you make informed choices.
It’s no secret that chemicals can spill out of food packaging into the food and into our bodies, so it’s important to remember the habits that can help you reduce exposure.
High temperatures can cause chemicals to leach more quickly into food, which is why you want to avoid microwaving food in takeout containers.
Foods that are high in fat or acidity (salad dressings) also tend to absorb more chemicals from their packaging, as do foods packed into smaller containers. If you’re at the salad bar, choose a large container where the food has less contact with the container—and maybe make your own salad dressing at home with fresh lemon and olive oil.
If you order takeout, be sure to put the food on a plate or bowl when you consume it at home—or bring a plate to work with you so you can reduce your exposure when ordering out.
For more tips on reducing exposure to plastics, sheck out this interview with UC San Francisco Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences Tracey Woodruff, PhD, MPH, who has researched how the toxic chemicals that surround us in modern life make us sick.
New Study On Excessive Fluoride
A new report marks the first time a federal agency has determined there is a link between drinking twice the recommended amount of fluoride and lower IQs in kids.
Since 1945, the use of fluoride has been a public health initiative aimed at reducing dental cavities and improving general oral health of adults and children.
New concerns have surfaced that some pregnant women and children may be getting more fluoride than they need because they now get fluoride from many sources including treated public water, water-added foods and beverages, teas, toothpaste, floss, and mouthwash, and the combined total intake of fluoride may exceed safe amounts.
“I think this [report] is crucial in our understanding” of this risk, Ashley Malin, a University of Florida researcher who recently published a study on the effect of higher fluoride levels in pregnant women on their children, told the Associated Press.
Read the full report “Fluoride Exposure: Neurodevelopment and Cognition” here.