There's more to food than just, well, food. One new study found that food contact chemicals, which are found in everything from food packaging to additives, make their way into human bodies and stay there. And unfortunately, many of them are far more toxic than previously realized.
What's happening?
The study, which was published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, found that a large number of food contact chemicals, or FCCs, are already present inside human samples, from blood to urine to breast milk. In total, the team found evidence of 3,601 chemicals, or 25% of all known FCCs, the Food Packaging Forum Foundation reported via Medical Xpress.
The summary quoted the study's co-author, Dr. Birgit Geueke, who said: "Our research establishes a link between food contact chemicals, exposure and human health. … And it highlights an important opportunity for prevention and protection of health."
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And yet despite the findings, researchers also theorized that there are actually more FCCs present in humans than they have yet found, namely because they were unable to investigate every single one with equal thoroughness.
Why are these findings concerning?
Dr. Jane Muncke, another co-author, shared her concern over the findings.
"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," she said, per Medical Xpress. "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."
Many of these FCCs are known hazards, Medical Xpress explained, including "forever chemicals" and known carcinogens.
Another co-author, Dr. Martin Scheringer, agreed that the presence of FCCs was not to be taken lightly.
"There are surprisingly many hazardous chemicals used in food contact materials," he said, "and they do not just stay there, but quite some of them reach, to some extent, the human body."
What's being done about this?
Most people buy their food from grocery stores, where it arrives after being grown, processed, packaged, and shipped over long distances. At every point in this process, more FCCs interact with the food, increasing the odds of hazardous chemicals making their way into the person who consumes it.
While the most effective way to minimize exposure is to start growing food in the backyard or in community gardens, that requires more space or effort than some people have or can realistically give (though perhaps less than you'd think).
If you fall into that category, look for products with minimal packaging, especially plastic; thoroughly wash your produce; and try to source foods from responsible growers and farms, ideally local ones in your area.
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