Food wrappers leach harmful chemicals into food

Thursday, November 11, 2010 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: food wrappers, chemicals, health news

(NaturalNews) Man-made chemicals are all over the place in today's environment, and many of them regularly come into direct contact with the food supply. A new study out of the University of Toronto has found that one of the primary sources of exposure to perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs), toxic chemical endocrine disruptors (EDs) used in many consumer products, is food wrappers.

Fast-food burger and fries paper wraps, potato chip bags, microwave popcorn bags, and many other forms of processed food product packaging contain various non-stick NS grease-resistant chemicals that are known to cause severe health problems. Clothing, bedding, carpet, cookware, and other common consumer products also contain applications of PFCAs like perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a highly-persistant, toxic chemical that is known to pollute human blood and disrupt hormonal balance.

"We suspected that a major source of human PFCA exposure may be the consumption and metabolism of polyfluoroalkyl phosphate esters or PAPs," explained Jessica D'eon, a graduate student in the University of Toronto's Department of Chemistry, and co-author of the study. "PAPs are applied as grease-proofing agents to paper food contact packaging such as fast food wrappers and microwave popcorn bags."

The team administered and observed the effects of PAPs and PFCAs in rats over the course of three weeks. They compared their findings to previous findings in human participants, and discovered that PAPs definitely build up in the body and cause long-term damage to health -- and people all over the world are exposed to them on a regular basis.

Previous studies have linked PFOA chemicals to high cholesterol (https://www.naturalnews.com/029676_PFOA_non-s...), as well as thyroid problems, lowered immune function, and cancer (https://www.naturalnews.com/022645.html).

Editor's Note: NaturalNews is strongly against the use of all forms of animal testing. We fully support the implementation of humane medical experimentation that promotes the health and well-being of all living creatures.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/main/newsitems...