Tire residues may be one of the last things you'd expect in your food — but new research suggests that they are, indeed, lurking there.
What's happening?
A new study from the University of Vienna examined vegetables in both supermarkets and in fields to analyze them for contaminants. They found that toxic chemicals from car tires are making their way into agriculture, through a combination of atmospheric deposition, treated wastewater being used to irrigate, and sewage sludge being used as fertilizer.
"There, they can be taken up by plants and thus also reach humans," said Thilo Hofmann, who headed up the research group.
It's been an open secret that the food we buy in grocery stores often contains chemical residues from toxic fertilizers and pesticides, but car tire contaminants is a previously unexplored topic.
"While the concentrations and daily intake are fortunately relatively low, additives from car tires are still found in food," Hoffman said. "That's not where they belong."
Why is this concerning?
Car tires are made with hundreds of chemical substances, several of which have been linked to harmful side effects and even death. For this reason, many landscapers are turning away from using rubber mulch, which is made out of shredded pieces of old tires.
And this is far from the only example of a harmful substance in our food. Dangerous chemicals have been detected in commercially sold olive oil, bottled water, tea, and more. Food packaging has been shown to leak toxins into the food itself.
And unfortunately, when the toxins are embedded in the food, they're essentially impossible to remove. Even with surface-level pesticides, the National Pesticide Information Center says that "no method is 100% effective" at removing them.
What's being done about this?
Many scientists are innovating ways to remove contaminants from our food chain, such as by using high-tech growing systems that greatly reduce fertilizer use, banning the sewage sludge often used as industrial fertilizer, and more.
One research team recently discovered that certain fish scales can be used as adsorbents to remove contamination from waterways.
One way to minimize your own exposure is to cook your food at home as much as possible, limiting your use of plastic packaging from takeout and the contaminants commonly found in industrially grown produce.
But perhaps the single most effective method is to start growing your own food; not only does it avoid exposure to industrial chemicals, but it also comes with a slew of mental and physical health benefits.
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