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HOUSTON — That microwave dinner you ate for lunch may have made promises of a low calorie count, but researchers say the industrial chemicals found in it may be another cause for concern.
Researchers with the University of Texas School of Public Health and National Institutes of Health tested pre-packaged foods for phthalates — a chemical added to plastics for flexibility, transparency, durability, and longevity — finding the chemical in all of the foods they tested. Pork, they found, had the highest estimated mean concentration of phthalates of any food group.
Exposure to phthalates, Schecter said, has been linked to reproductive changes including sperm damage, premature breast development, and premature birth.
It's unfortunate that we have these toxic chemicals in our bodies.
–Arnold Schecter, University of Texas School of Public Health
According to the authors, this was the first study to compile and analyze phthalates in food in the United States.
The study only measured pre-packaged foods, but the authors wrote that Americans are exposed to phthalates in other ways every day: shampoos, soaps, plastic products, dust, soil, plastic toys, among many other possible exposures in any environment.
On ingredient lists, chemical abbreviations for phthalates include DBP and DEP in personal care products, DEHP in PVC plastics, BzBP as used in flooring, car and personal care products, and DMP in insect repellant and some plastics, according to the the Daily Green.
So should consumers worry? Well, yes and no, study authors said.
"It's unfortunate that we have these toxic chemicals in our bodies," said Arnold Schecter, M.D., M.P.H. and professor at the University of Texas School of Public Health. "However, this is not a cause for alarm because the amount of phthalates found in the food falls below what the Environmental Protection Agency considers safe. But it is cause for concern because these toxins and others previously reported by this group do not belong in our food or our bodies."
The study authors called for further research on pre-packaged foods, mentioning their study's weaknesses, including more extensive geography and that they did not study food packaged, processed, or served in homes and restaurants. They did not name any specific brands in the study.
