Almost 10,000 chemicals can seep into food from plastic containers, an alarming study reveals

Plastic food packaging contains harmful substances. Researchers found up to 9,936 different chemicals in a single plastic product used as food packaging.

It may be time to ditch plastic containers and ziplock food storage bags, health experts advise.

Plastic is a very complex material that can contain many different chemicals, some of which can be harmful. This also applies to plastic food packaging.

A new study has found that these everyday food packaging materials can give rise to a cocktail of potentially harmful chemicals that can end up directly in the packaged food.

Researchers in Norway say they have discovered almost 10,000 different chemicals in a single food packaging product!

A study recently published in the journal Environmental Science & Technologyconducted by researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, tested 36 different plastic food packaging products from Germany, Norway, South Korea, Great Britain and the United States.

It interferes with hormones and metabolism

The findings were worrying, as substances that interfere with the hormones and metabolism of the human body were identified in almost all of the articles.

The researchers used a two-pronged approach to find out what chemicals are hiding in the plastic.

First, they extracted all the chemicals from each plastic product using methanol.

They then put these chemical mixtures through a series of laboratory tests to see if they could activate or block certain human receptors involved in regulating our hormones and metabolism.

The researchers included receptors for estrogen, testosterone and key metabolic regulators such as peroxisome proliferator receptor and pregnane X receptor (PXR) which play a role in regulating blood sugar and fat metabolism.

In the field of molecular biology, pregnane X receptor, also known as steroid and xenobiotic-sensitive nuclear receptor or nuclear receptor subfamily 1, group I, member 2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the NR1I2 gene.

The results were revealing

The team found that 33 of the 36 plastics contained chemicals that activated the pregnane X receptor, which is involved in detoxifying foreign substances but also plays a role in regulating blood sugar and fat metabolism.

Twenty-three products contained chemicals that activated the peroxisome proliferator receptor, considered the “master regulator” of fat cell development.

Testosterone receptor-blocking chemicals were found in 14 products, while estrogen-mimicking chemicals were detected in 18 products.

“We discovered up to 9,936 different chemicals in a single plastic product used as food packaging,” says study co-author Martin Wagner, professor at NTNU’s biology department, in a statement.

What is particularly concerning is that exposure to these hormone-disrupting chemicals has been linked to a number of health problems, including obesity, diabetes, reduced fertility and certain cancers. Children are particularly vulnerable to these effects.

Unfortunately, researchers don’t know exactly what these problematic chemicals are. The scientists used high-resolution mass spectrometry to try to identify specific chemical compounds in the plastics. But it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. A single plastic item can contain thousands of different chemicals, many of which are unknown or poorly studied.

Some of the usual suspects that showed up in the scan were bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates. These are well-known hormone disruptors that have already been restricted in certain products, such as baby bottles.

However, the study suggests that even BPA-free plastics contain other endocrine-disrupting chemicals that have not yet been identified.

It affects the body’s signals

In a second study, the researchers looked at different combinations of chemicals in plastic to see what effect they might have on G protein-coupled receptors. These receptors play an important role in transmitting signals in the body.

“We identified 11 combinations of chemicals in plastic products that affect these signal receptors,” notes Wagner.

The researchers found some interesting patterns. Plastic materials made of PVC (cpolyvinyl chloride), PUR (polyurethane material) and LDPE (plow density ethylene), generally removed more toxic chemicals compared to PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and HDPE (high density polyethylene).

Colored and printed plastics tended to be worse than plain ones. And fatty, oily or acidic foods are more likely to absorb chemicals from packaging compared to dry foods.

Absorbed in the body

Overall, the results point to a much larger problem – the use of thousands of little-studied chemicals in plastics, which can migrate into food.

Since the identity of many of these chemicals is not even known, they are not regulated and there is no obligation for manufacturers to test for their toxicity or long-term health effects.

The researchers say their findings underscore the urgent need to rethink the way plastics are produced.

Instead of the current “chemical cocktail” approach, a shift to simpler designs with fewer well-studied ingredients would go a long way toward improving the safety of food packaging.

“These and previous findings show that plastic is exposing us to toxic chemicals. They support the theory that we need to redesign plastic to make it safer,” says Prof. Wagner.

Previously, it was not known if the chemicals could be released into the environment under normal conditions or if they remained bound in the plastic.

However, a few years ago, another research group showed that most plastic products shed chemicals when submerged in water.

Prof. Wagner was also part of this research group. During the study, they discovered chemicals that can affect human fertility.

Because plastic contains so many different chemicals, researchers can still only identify a few of them at a time. This means that very little is still known about the effects that most of these chemicals have.

In the meantime, what can the average consumer do?

While it’s nearly impossible to completely avoid food packaging, researchers suggest some tips:

• transfer food from plastic containers to glass or stainless steel containers for storage, especially when reheating;
• avoid putting hot food in plastic;
• choose dry foods instead of oily/fatty foods when buying packaged foods.

Prioritizing fresh, unpackaged foods is also a good way to reduce exposure to chemicals.