Many chemicals can migrate into food from packaging and equipment used to manufacture and process food. Some of these chemicals are known to have hazardous properties such as carcinogenicity, toxicity for reproduction, persistence and bioaccumulation, or endocrine disruption. In addition, the safety of other chemicals hasn’t been adequately assessed.
Thirty-three international scientists published a scientific consensus statement on food contact chemicals and human health Monday in Environmental Health.
The statement sends a message that the system for protecting consumers from food contact chemicals is broken, said Lisa Y. Lefferts, senior scientist for the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
“First, we call for elimination of chemical hazards in food contact articles, and development of safer alternatives,” Lefferts said. “We also highlight the need to develop better approaches to assess the health effects from the combinations of chemicals that get into food from packaging and other food contact materials.”
She said she hopes the statement will inspire a robust debate among government regulators and scientists, both inside and outside the food industry.
“There is an urgent need to improve how we assess the safety of chemicals in the equipment and packages that get into the food we all eat every day,” Lefferts said.
