Eating Plastic: Phthalates and Bisphenols Are in 99% of Supermarket and Fast Food, Including "Certified Organic" and Non-Plastic-Wrapped Foods

An Investigation by Consumer Reports

After testing foods for plasticizers only a few times in the last 25 years, Consumer Reports investigated again.

According to their January 4, 2024 investigation, unacceptably high levels of the plasticizers called phthalates and bisphenols are in our grocery and fast foods.

Plasticizers

A plasticizer is a chemical used to make plastics more flexible and durable. Todays plasticizers show up inside almost all of us. Even low levels are implicated in a long list of health concerns.

Phthalates and biphenols are compounds implicated in diabetes and hormone imbalance. CR found high levels are "widespread" among grocery and fast foods.

High plasticizer levels were found even if foods were “certified organic” or wrapped in a non-plastic wrap.

“Researchers found that 99% of the supermarket and fast foods they tested contained phthalates, also known as plasticizers, which are chemicals that are added to plastics to make them more flexible.

In addition, 79% of the food samples contained bisphenol A (BPA), an industrial chemical used in plastic manufacturing, and other bisphenols. Both chemicals have been found in studies to be hazardous to health.”

“We found them in almost every food we tested, often at high levels. The levels did not depend on packaging type, and no one particular type of food—say, dairy products or prepared meals—was more likely than another to have them.”

Health Risks

Phthalates. According to a 2008 report by the National Research Council Research, phthalates are linked to causing reproductive disorders and genital abnormalities.

Bisphenol A (BPA). According to a Mayo Clinic study, BPA is linked to causing high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.

Route of Plastics Contamination

Consumer Reports found that plastics don't leach in from just cellophane wrapping. They get into foods by these routes:

• Tubing

• Conveyor belts

• Gloves used during processing

• Contaminated water

• Contaminated soil

There are only a few laws regulating phthalate use in foods. Just last year, the FDA rejected a petition that to ban phthalates in food packaging and processing. Some experts agree that BPA regulations are outdated and ineffective.

Consumer Reports lead scientist for the food testing Tunde Akinleye, stated in the report:

"Many of these thresholds do not reflect the most current scientific knowledge, and may not protect against all the potential health effects… We don't feel comfortable saying these levels are okay. They're not… The more we learn about these chemicals, including how widespread they are, the more it seems clear that they can harm us even at very low levels.”

Testing 85 Foods for 10 Phthalates and 3 Bisphenols

Consumer Reports tested two or three samples of these foods that were contained in different types of packaging, such as tin cans, pouches, and aluminum foil:

• Prepared meals

• Fruits

• Vegetables

• Milk and other dairy products

• Baby food

• Fast food

• Meat

• Seafood

Phthalate Levels in Supermarket Foods

• Annie's Organic Cheesy Ravioli: contained the highest phthalate level, 53,579 per nanogram

• Del Monte Sliced Peaches: 24,928 phthalates per nanogram

• Chicken of the Sea Pink Salmon: 24,321 phthalates per nanogram.

• Fairlife Core Power high-protein chocolate milkshakes

• Yoplait Original French vanilla low-fat yogurt

Polar Seltzer Raspberry Lime: This was the only product that tested negative.

Phthalate Levels in Fast Foods

In comparison, fast foods had much lower phthalate levels:

• McDonald's Quarter Pounder With Cheese: 9,956 phthalates per nanogram

• Little Caesars Classic Cheese Pizza (in a cardboard box): 5,703 phthalates per nanogram.

• Wendy's Crispy Chicken Nuggets: 33,980 phthalates per nanogram. 

• Wendy’s crispy Chipotle chicken burrito

• Burger King Whopper with cheese

Organic products were just as problematic: In fact, the highest phthalate levels we found were in a can of Annie’s Organic cheesy ravioli.

Recommendations

Grow your own food, and/or buy from a Farmer's Market. And don't be offended by someone's hands on your food - it could be better for you than a plastic glove.

WHAT I REALLY THINK

I started thinking about plastics on our food when at a friend's for Thanksgiving. Thankfully, the host let me help her with the dinner but