Food packaging chemicals build up in body: Study finds 3,600 substances
Up to 3,600 different chemicals from food packaging—that’s how many substances have been identified in the human body. Scientists call for more scrutiny of what food is packaged in.
The findings of a study on how contaminated the human body is with substances from food packaging were published in the "Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology". The team of scientists led by Dr. Birgit Geueke (from the Swiss organization Food Packaging Forum Foundation) determined that over 3,600 chemical substances used in food packaging can be found in human bodies.
Some of them are hazardous to health
About 100 are considered "very hazardous" to human health among the thousands of identified substances. Some remaining substances have not been sufficiently studied, so their harmfulness is unknown. However, others are well-known to scientists, such as PFAS and bisphenol A.
Nevertheless, the list of identified chemicals still contains many question marks. Scientists do not know precisely how many of the substances used in food packaging affect human health. However, it is known that they enter the body along with food.
Scientists have identified about 14,000 chemical substances that come into contact with food, but "only" 3,600 of them enter the human body. According to the research team, the greatest threat is posed by perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. They also point to the presence of bisphenol A, which disrupts the hormonal balance. Phthalates and oligomers also negatively impact hormones.
For now, scientists need to study in more detail the identified compounds potentially dangerous to health that enter the body through food packaging. However, to limit the migration of these chemicals, they urge people not to heat food in plastic containers.
