By Minerva BC Newman
DUMAGUETE CITY— Thirty-three international scientists who work in the fields of developmental biology, endocrinology, epidemiology, toxicology and environmental and public health published a scientific consensus statement on March 4, urging decision makers in government, industry and civil society to reduce exposure to harmful chemicals that are present in food packaging such as plastics.
(unwrappedproject.org / MANILA BULLETIN)
According to Dr. Jorge Emmanuel of Silliman University in Dumaguete City, who is one of the authors/convenors of the consensus statement that in the Philippines, so much of the food is in plastic bags and plastic containers and some people even microwave food in plastics, yet many studies have shown that chemicals can migrate from plastics into food.
The consensus statement was published on March 3, 2020, in the open access journal Environmental Health that resulted in a Declaration of Concern and Call to Action, which as of March 4 was already signed by more than 160 organizations worldwide, Emmanuel said.
The Declaration which is available at https://www.unwrappedproject.org/calls on lawmakers to ensure full disclosure and traceability of chemicals used in packaging, to restrict the use of hazardous chemicals in food packaging, and to adopt policies that support the transition to safe, reusable and refillable packaging.
According to Emmanuel that the scientific consensus statement was based on more than 1,200 peer-reviewed scientific studies and highlights seven specific areas in need of improvement, including elimination of hazardous chemicals in food contact articles, development of safer alternatives, modernizing risk assessment, consideration of endocrine disruption, addressing mixture toxicity, improving enforcement and establishing a multi-stakeholder dialogue to find practical solutions.
“Our scientific consensus statement explains that in the U.S., about half of the nearly 12,000 chemicals allowed as food additives are food contact chemicals (FCCs)but many of them have never been tested for endocrine disruption and other hazardous properties,” Emmanuel said.
Emmanuel, who specializes in environmental toxicology, public health and polymer science, among others, explained that endocrine disruption is the ability of some chemicals to mimic or interfere with the body’s hormones.
He added that endocrine disrupting chemicals have been linked with developmental malformations, reproductive problems, increased cancer risk, and changes to immune and nervous system functions.
The consensus statement also points out that in Europe, some substances that are known to cause cancer, genetic mutations, or harm to the reproductive system, are still authorized for use in food contact materials, he said.
The consensus statement notes that hazardous chemicals that can transfer from food contact materials are associated with chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cancer and neurological disorders, like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Emmanuel added.
“The issue is especially relevant for recycled materials and plastics alternatives that are being promoted as more environmentally friendly in response to plastic pollution concerns,” Emmanuel said.
Consensus statement, a wake-up call
According to Dr. Jane Muncke, managing director of the Food Packaging Forum and co-author of the consensus statement that this is a wake-up call because virtually everyone who eats food is exposed to food contact chemicals, but some are known to be hazardous and many are untested or even completely unknown.
Muncke said that chemical migration from food contact articles like packaging must be systematically addressed, and any hazardous substances removed and not just replaced with other, less well studied chemicals that turn out to be regrettable substitutions, like BPS that replaced BPA.
BPA is short for bisphenol A, a chemical found in reusable water tumblers, baby bottles and other products made of polycarbonate plastic as well as in coatings of metal food cans, Muncke explained.
“BPA was detected in 93 percent of urine samples of people six years and older by a 2004 U.S. government study,” she added.
Muncke went on that after tests with animals showed that BPA is an endocrine disruptor, manufacturers started selling “BPA free” products, however, the common BPA replacement, bisphenol S or BPS, turned out to be an endocrine disruptor also.
A study in 2012 found that 81 percent of urine samples from Japan, U.S., China, Kuwait, Vietnam, Malaysia, India, and Korea had detectable levels of the replacement BPS, Muncke added.
The authors of the consensus statement analyzed existing lists of food contact chemicals (FCCs) issued by legislators, industry, and NGOs worldwide and they found that almost 12,000 distinct chemicals are potentially in use in the manufacture of food contact materials today and that many have not been tested adequately for toxicity.
According to the authors that while there is a great amount of information for some of the most well studied FCCs such as BPA and phthalates, thousands of reported FCCs lack data on their hazardous properties and/or level of human exposure – but these are critical data for determining human health risks.
The scientists said that there is an unknown but presumably even higher number of non-intentionally added substances present in food packaging that have the potential to migrate into food, especially from recycled materials.
Non-intentionally added substances refer to impurities found with the chemical additives, the results of chemical reactions during manufacturing, or chemicals produced when the additives themselves degrade, Muncke said.
According to Emmanuel, another concern are phthalates. “These are a group of chemicals added to many plastics to increase their flexibility and to soften polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic which would otherwise be rigid.”
Plastics with phthalates include food packaging, toothbrushes, tablecloth, schoolbook covers, garden hoses and medical tubing, Emmanuel said.
He bared that some phthalates have been shown to affect the reproductive systems of laboratory animals, resulting in damaged sperm, abnormal development of the male reproductive tract and decreased fertility. The health effects on humans are still being studied, Emmanuel added.
“With the evidence presented by the international scientists, our lawmakers and government agencies such as DOH, FDA, DENR, DOST and others should apply the precautionary principle and take action to protect our people’s health,” according to Merci Ferrer, co-convenor of War on Waste/Break Free From Plastic-Negros Oriental, one of the organizations that signed the Declaration.