79 of these chemicals are known to pose health risks
According to the Sigma Test and Research (https://www.sigmatest.org/), if you’re concerned about what you eat, you should be concerned about the packaging your food comes in. Believe it or not, the packaging your food comes in can harm you greatly. Obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other health problems are only a few of the short-and long-term dangers associated with chemicals in packaging, it observes.
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Corroborating this observation, a new study has revealed that more than 3,600+ chemicals from food packaging, processing, and storage materials, many of them known to pose serious health risks, permeate into food and are present in the human body.
www.sofx.com/ quoting the study, published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, has reported that the research highlights widespread human exposure to these food contact chemicals (FCCs), some of which are linked to serious health issues, including cancer, genetic mutations, and reproductive disorders.
The website states that the study, conducted by researchers from the Food Packaging Forum and other academic institutions, is the first to systematically document the presence of FCCs in human samples, such as urine, blood, and breast milk. It found evidence of 3,601 FCCs, representing 25% of known FCCs, in the human body. Of these, 79 chemicals are known to pose health risks.
Some of the most hazardous chemicals detected include bisphenols, PFAS (large, complex group of synthetic chemicals), phthalates, and metals. These substances are commonly found in food packaging materials, such as plastic containers, cans, and coatings. The study warns that many chemicals, including synthetic antioxidants used in packaging, are under-researched, and their effects on human health are not fully understood.
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Dr. Birgit Geueke, first author of the study, emphasizes the importance of this work: “Our research establishes a link between food contact chemicals, exposure, and human health. It also highlights those chemicals that have been overlooked in biomonitoring studies so far. And it offers an important opportunity for prevention and protection of health.”
www.sofx.com quotes Dr. Jane Muncke, co-author of the study and managing director at the Food Packaging Forum, as emphasizing the risks posed by these chemicals. “Food contact materials are not fully safe, even if they comply with regulations, because they transfer known hazardous chemicals into people.”
The study also revealed significant gaps in biomonitoring and toxicity data, calling for more research to assess the long-term health impacts of these chemicals.
Researchers used data from five human biomonitoring programmes and multiple scientific databases to compile their findings, but they believe the actual number of FCCs present in humans may be higher than detected.
