Safer materials needed
Additionally, the study underscores significant gaps in
biomonitoring and toxicity data. The findings are accessible through the
FCChumon database, an interactive tool created by researchers from the Food
Packaging Forum in collaboration with colleagues from four academic
institutions.
Research Methodology and Findings
In a systematic approach, the authors compared over 14,000
known FCCs with data from five human biomonitoring programs, three
metabolome/exposome databases, and scientific literature. This revealed
evidence of 3,601 FCCs present in humans, representing 25% of the known FCCs.
Dr. Birgit Geueke, first author of the study, emphasizes the
importance of this work: “Our research establishes a link between food contact
chemicals, exposure, and human health. It also highlights those chemicals that
have been overlooked in biomonitoring studies so far. And it offers an
important opportunity for prevention and protection of health.”
Certain groups of chemicals, such as bisphenols, PFAS,
phthalates, metals, and volatile organic compounds, have been widely detected
in human samples and food contact materials (FCMs). Many of these chemicals
have hazardous properties of concern and have been linked to harming human
health.
Dr. Jane Muncke, senior author, expresses concern over this
widespread exposure: “This work highlights the fact that food contact materials
are not fully safe, even though they may comply with regulations, because they
transfer known hazardous chemicals into people. We would like this new evidence
base to be used for improving the safety of food contact materials – both in
terms of regulations but also in the development of safer alternatives.”
Additionally, for other chemicals that transfer from the
packaging into the food, such as synthetic antioxidants and oligomers, little
is known about their presence and fate in humans. Dr. Ksenia Groh from the
Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology comments on this
knowledge gap: “Our study highlights that antioxidants, despite their high
production volumes and widespread use in plastics, are largely absent from
monitoring programs. The knowledge about metabolism, fate, and effects of these
substances is generally scarce.”
The Urgency for Safer Materials
In addition to this, the study pointed out that many
chemicals’ potential hazards have not been sufficiently investigated. While
food packaging is not the only source of exposure, the data from this study
will improve the understanding of how food contact materials contribute to
human exposure. It is likely that the actual number of FCCs present in humans
is higher than currently detected because only a subset of FCCs was
investigated in detail.
Prof. Dr. Martin Scheringer, co-author from ETH Zürich,
stressed the urgency of addressing this issue: “There are surprisingly many
hazardous chemicals used in food contact materials, and they do not just stay
there, but quite some of them reach, to some extent, the human body. This is
concerning, and there clearly is a need for safer and simpler food contact
materials.”
These results aim to help researchers focus on important
gaps in our knowledge about human exposure to FCCs and better understand the
health effects of these chemicals.
As co-author Olwenn Martin from the University College of
London states, “We already knew that problematic chemicals in food packaging
are not limited to well-known substances such as bisphenol and phthalates, but
we were surprised by the high number of food contact chemicals for which some
evidence of human exposure exists. This shows that there needs to be more
research about the toxicity and exposure to many chemicals and regulations
around their use in food packaging.”
Reference: “Evidence for widespread human exposure to food
contact chemicals” by Birgit Geueke, Lindsey V. Parkinson, Ksenia J. Groh,
Christopher D. Kassotis, Maricel V. Maffini, Olwenn V. Martin, Lisa Zimmermann,
Martin Scheringer and Jane Muncke, 17 September 2024, Journal of
Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology.
DOI: 10.1038/s41370-024-00718-2
All the data can be easily accessed and browsed in the
accompanying Database on Food Contact Chemicals Monitored in Humans (FCChumon).
FCChumon builds on the previously published Food Contact Chemicals Database
(FCCdb) and Database on Migrating and Extractable Food Contact Chemicals
(FCCmigex). This work is part of the Food Contact Chemicals & Human Health
(FCCH) project.
The study was funded by the Adessium Foundation, MAVA
Foundation, Sympany Stiftung, Minerva Stiftung.
