Based on a small sample of butter purchased in Texas grocery stores, researchers have concluded that high levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) found in one sample “were likely transferred from contaminated wrapping paper to butter.” Arnold Schecter, et al., “Contamination of U.S. Butter with Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers from Wrapping Paper,” Environmental Health Perspectives, 2011. While they were unable to pinpoint the contamination’s source, the study’s authors suggest that their research can “serve to alert the public, scientists, food processors, and regulatory agencies that relatively high levels of food contamination with emerging POPs [persistent organic pollutants] sometimes occurs.” They call for additional research and spot checks by regulatory agencies “to determine when and where screening for POPs contamination of food is most appropriate and would also help reduce incidence of contaminated food sold to the public.” Meanwhile, in commentary on recent scientific literature involving food contact materials, an assistant University…
Tag Archives packaging
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has asked the Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) “to investigate and ban reusable shopping bags that contain higher than acceptable levels of lead.” According to a November 18, 2010, press release, Schumer issued letters to the agencies after third-party testing purportedly revealed “higher than acceptable levels of lead” in reusable grocery bags manufactured in China. The senator has expressed concern that “food products come into direct contact with these bags and long-term exposure can pose serious health and environmental risks.” Schumer’s announcement also cited “several reports” claiming that “a significant number of reusable shopping bags contained over 100 parts per million (PPM) in heavy metals. In some cases, bags contained as many as 5 times the allowable limits.” These reports evidently suggested that “the paint on lead-filled bags has the ability to peal and flake off, coming into direct…
University of Toronto scientists have published a study suggesting that a significant source of perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs) in human sera are the polyfluoroalkyl phosphate esters (PAPs) used in food-contact paper packaging, particularly popcorn bags and fast food wrappers. Jessica D’eon & Scott Mabury,“Exploring Indirect Sources of Human Exposure to Perfluoroalkyl Carboxylates (PFCAs): Evaluating Uptake, Elimination and Biotransformation of Polyfluoroalkyl Phosphate Esters (PAPs) in the Rat,” Environmental Health Perspectives, November 8, 2010. PAPs are used to prevent water and fat from escaping the packaging. According to lead researcher Scott Mabury, “Those chemicals called PAPs move into food, make it into humans upon ingestion and metabolically are transformed into the PFCAs.” While it is apparently unknown whether these chemicals have an adverse effect on human health, Mabury said PFCAs are “highly reactive” and, hence, of concern. The authors note that PFCAs have been found in human sera worldwide, but major sources are…
Germany’s Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) recently held its Ninth Forum on Consumer Protection in Berlin, where 300 participants discussed the alleged health risks of recycled materials used in food packaging. More specifically, the meeting focused on cardboard packaging made from recycled paper, which evidently contains mineral oils used in newspaper ink that can migrate “in relevant amounts into the packaged foods.” While acknowledging that a final assessment “is not yet possible,” BfR has cited animal tests suggesting that these mineral oil residues “are deposited in the liver and lymph nodes and could damage these organs.” It has thus recommended minimizing the migration of these oils into foods. “This concerns dry foods with a large surface such as rice, semolina, corn flakes and noodles,” states the BfR press release. “As a possibility, the BfR Forum discussed the use of liner bags, for example made of aluminum coated plastics, in…
U.S. Representative Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) has requested that the Kellogg Co. provide documentation to the Committee on Energy and Commerce concerning the possible contamination of millions of cereal boxes with the chemical 2-methylnaphthalene. In his August 2, 2010, letter, Waxman refers to the June recall of more than 25 million boxes of “Corn Pops, Honey Smacks, Fruit Loops, and Apple Jacks cereal” and notes that while at least one study has shown the chemical at issue “may cause lung injuries in adults[, t]here are no studies indicating whether children are more susceptible.” Waxman cites a news article indicating that Kellogg destroyed tainted packaging before issuing the recall, and he seeks documents relating to (i) the company’s food safety policies and procedures; (ii) “any assessments of the health risks posed by 2-methylnaphthalene conducted by, commissioned by, or requested by your company, including a copy of the health risk assessment created by…
This article examines the fallout from Kellogg Co.’s recall of 28 million cereal boxes that, according to a public statement, contained “elevated levels of hydrocarbons, including methyl naphthalene, normally found in the paraffin wax and film in the liners.” The company voluntarily pulled the products after receiving complaints about an “off-flavor and smell,” which caused nausea and other gastrointestinal ailments in some consumers. Schor highlights the failure of Congress to pass reform measures that would allow the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue mandatory recalls. “[T]he legislation sits in limbo in the upper chambers as industry groups chafe at Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-Calif.) bid to ban another chemical with an unclear safety history, bisphenol A, from food containers,” she writes. Citing a recent Environmental Working Group (EWG) report that underscores the potential toxicity of methyl naphthalene, Schor raises questions about the overall safety of food packaging. EWG has “urged…
Following Kellogg Co.’s voluntary recall of some 28 million boxes of breakfast cereals for a “waxy” smell and flavor emitted from package liners, some have pointed to growing public concern over chemicals, such as bisphenol A, that are allegedly leaching into foods from packaging materials. The Kellogg recall involved an unknown substance added to the liners at the company’s Omaha, Nebraska, facility; it reportedly gave rise to complaints about nausea and vomiting, and the company warned parents that it could cause vomiting or diarrhea in sensitive children. Writing about the recall, The Daily Green discusses a 2009 study of legal food packaging substances that purportedly have endocrine disrupting properties. Among the food packaging chemicals with potential health effects are lead in glass, ortho-phenylphenol in beer and soda cans, perfluorinated compounds in paper packaging, and benzophenone in milk, juice and wine cartons. See The Associated Press, June 25, 2010; The Daily Green,…
A federal court in Kentucky has determined as a matter of law that a company which tested, developed and approved paper packaging for customers buying KFC Popcorn chicken breached its contract because the containers caught fire while being microwaved. KFC U.S. Props., Inc. v. Paris Packaging, Inc., No. 09-00249 (W.D. Ky., decided February 25, 2010). So ruling, the court granted KFC’s motion for partial summary judgment. Additional details about the lawsuit appear in issue 299 of this Update. According to the court, the parties’ contract specified that the packaging company would be responsible for ensuring the product was safe regardless of any standards, specifications or other information KFC provided. Because it was reasonably foreseeable that customers would microwave their KFC chicken in the paper box in which they took it home, the court held that the defendant breached its contract by providing unsafe packaging that was unfit for its intended…
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has created a scientific cooperation (ESCO)working group “to collect and analyze information on the safety of substances” used in non-plastic food contact materials. Citing concern that certain substances, such as inks and adhesives, are migrating into foods, EFSA initiated the working group to “identify strengths and weaknesses in different approaches used for risk assessment, propose criteria for future safety evaluations and suggest further actions to be taken.” ESCO will present its findings to EFSA’s executive director by the end of March 2011. “Whilst EU rules specify that all materials coming into contact with foods must be safe, many non-plastic components of food contact materials—unlike plastic materials— are not subject to specific provisions at the European level,” states a February 22, 2010, EFSA press release.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) has proposed amending regulations that govern the U.S. Standards for Condition of Food Containers. According to AMS, these revisions are necessary to “reflect current industry practices” and include “simplifying sampling plans, updating the acceptable quality levels to incorporate new defects, and updating current defects to include new packaging technologies and interior can defects.” These amendments “could potentially affect more than 26,000 food manufacturing establishments that may request to have their product containers inspected under the provisions of the U.S. Standards for Condition of Food Containers.” The agency will accept comments on the proposal until January 19, 2010. See Federal Register and AMS Press Release, November 19, 2009.
