AnyTV News Do you also take this thing lightly? More than 3,600 food packaging chemicals found in the body

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Packaged Food Items

Food Packaging Chemicals: According to a study, more than 3,600 chemicals used in food packaging or its preparation have reached the human body. Some of these chemicals are harmful to health, while not much is known about others. Birgit Geuke, the lead researcher of this study published in the journal ‘Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology’, said that about 100 of the 3,600 chemicals found in the human body are considered to be a cause of “serious concern for human health”. Geuke is associated with a Zurich-based non-governmental organization called the Food Packaging Forum Foundation.

More research is needed

Some of the chemicals found in the human body during the study have been thoroughly researched. PFAS and bisphenol A have been found to be deadly and efforts are being made to ban both chemicals. According to Geuke, less is known about the health effects of other chemicals. Geuke told AFP that more research is needed on how chemicals used in packaging reach the body with food.

A list of 14,000 chemicals was made

The researchers listed about 14,000 chemicals that can get into food from packaging made of plastic, paper, glass, metal or other materials. These chemicals can also come from other parts of the food preparation process, such as conveyor belts or kitchen utensils. The researchers searched for these chemicals in existing biomonitoring databases of chemicals found in samples taken from humans. Geuke said they expected to find a few hundred chemicals, but instead found more than 3,000 chemicals, a quarter of all chemicals that come into contact with food.

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Packaged Food

Chemicals are harmful to the body

Geuke also clarified that the study could not prove that the chemicals entered the body through food packaging, because exposure from other sources is also possible. For example, food stored on newspaper can also be dangerous. The chemicals of most concern included several PFAs, known as “forever chemicals.” These chemicals have been found in many parts of the human body and are linked to a number of health problems. Bisphenol A, a hormone-disrupting chemical, has also been found in the human body. It is used to make plastics. It has already been banned from baby bottles in many countries.

Gotta be careful

Duane Mellor of Britain’s Aston University, who was not involved in the study, called the study “very detailed work”. He told AFP that it is possible that the chemicals are entering our body from other sources in the environment. Mellor suggested that instead of being “overly concerned” people should reduce their exposure to chemicals that can affect our health. The European Union is in the final stages of banning the use of PFAS in food packaging. The EU has also proposed a similar ban on bisphenol A by the end of this year.