A new study has found that the food supply is contaminated with over 3,600 potentially toxic chemicals.
The chemicals were found in packaging that ultimately contaminated the food, according to the study.
The researchers previously cataloged around 14,000 food-contact chemicals (FCCs).
All of the recorded FCCs are capable of migrating into food from packaging.
They are made from a wide variety of materials, including plastic, paper, glass, and metal.
During the study, researchers looked for these chemicals in existing biomonitoring databases around the world.
Those databases logged chemicals found in human samples.
The researchers expected to find hundreds of chemicals in the databases.
However, they found 3,601 chemicals, a full quarter of all known FCCs.
Previous studies establishing their toxicity have already determined that around 100 of these chemicals are of “high concern.”
Chemicals such as per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), bisphenol A, and phthalates are among those listed as “high concern.”
However, the rest have little to no data establishing their risks to human health.
Shouldn’t we be talking about the fact that we have 1,000 ingredients in our food that are illegal in other countries? We are systematically poisoning this generation of kids. That is what this election should be about. #MAHA
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— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) September 13, 2024
In response to the new study, health advocates have pointed to the current system for chemical regulation in the United States.
Regulation is one of the main reasons that so many chemicals end up in food packaging and, ultimately, in our bodies.
Melanie Benesh, the vice president for government affairs at the Environmental Working Group, said in a statement that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) isn’t doing enough to tackle the issue.
The Environmental Working Group is one of several nonprofit organizations that have repeatedly petitioned the agency to ban toxic substances in food and packaging.
“Some have never been reviewed by the FDA at all because food and chemical companies are exploiting a loophole that lets them, rather than the FDA, decide whether a chemical is safe,” Benesh said.
“It’s no surprise that consumer confidence in food chemical safety is falling.”
The FDA is now vowing to change its review processes for new food chemicals and to conduct reviews of chemicals already on the market.
However, FDA representatives have said current funding levels need to be increased significantly.
Jim Jones, the FDA’s first-ever deputy commissioner for human foods, said that the federal agency needs “a systematic approach for chemical reassessment.”
Reforming the FDA and other regulatory agencies is a central plank of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.
Kennedy has joined forces with President Donald Trump in an effort to pursue this agenda.
The former independent presidential candidate said the Democratic Party was unreceptive to his suggestions.
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