In a recent study published in Environmental Science & Technology, researchers identified 15,159 chemicals known to come into contact with food, either intentionally used in manufacturing or found migrating from packaging. They matched these chemicals against official regulatory safety data to identify those linked to serious health effects, including cancer, reproductive harm and hormone disruption.

They identified 1,222 chemicals used in food packaging that regulators have reviewed and found to pose serious risks to human health. More than 4,000 chemicals were classified in hazardous priority groups, and 70% of these closely related chemicals lacked adequate safety data, increasing the risk that they could be introduced as regrettable substitutions.

Flagging the leachers

Chemicals from packaging, processing equipment and other food-contact materials can end up in the food we eat. Currently, at least 2,160 food-contact chemicals (FCCs) are known to migrate into food, and some, including certain bisphenols and ortho-phthalates, are already regulated in some parts of the world because of concerns about their health risks.

Regulation often pushes manufacturers to replace one chemical with a near-identical alternative. BPA, for example, has been replaced with BPS, but because the two chemicals are structurally similar, BPS may carry many of the same toxic effects. This creates a dangerous loophole where a chemical is restricted on paper, but the health risk may simply be replaced rather than removed.