EWG Guide Targets “Dirty Dozen” Endocrine Disruptors

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) and Keep A Breast Foundation have released an October 2013 report detailing how to avoid exposure to certain endocrine disruptors allegedly found in food, food packaging and other consumer products. Titled “The Dirty Dozen: 12 Hormone-Altering Chemicals and How to Avoid Them,” the report singles out bisphenol A, dioxins, atrazine, phthalates, perchlorate, fire retardants, lead, arsenic, mercury, perfluorinated chemicals, organophosphate pesticides, and glycol ethers as among “the worst hormone disrupters.”

In particular, EWG argues that the interference of these substances with hormone production and signaling has been linked to cancer, reproductive problems, obesity, early puberty, heart disease, and other health conditions. To this end, the report urges consumers to avoid canned foods, thermal receipts, plastic food containers, plastic wrap, and non-stick pans, among other products. It also recommends that readers increase their consumption of organic products as well as sustainable seafood, such as wild salmon or farmed trout. “There is no end to the tricks that endocrine disruptors can play on our bodies,” opines the report: “increasing production of certain hormones; decreasing production of others; imitating hormones; turning one hormone into another; interfering with hormone signaling; telling cells to die prematurely; competing with essential nutrients; binding to essential hormones; accumulating in organs that produce hormones.” See EWG Press Release, October 28, 2013.