How much food are you eating out of cans these days? Ever wonder about the plastic linings in those cans, or about the impact plastic is having in your food chain?
Could easily write a PhD on this, but let us go Out on a Limb once more, summarise where we are at in 2019 and suggest how to avoid some potentially major health problems, but first
Thought for the day
There is no need for temples;
No need for complicated philosophy.
Our own brain, our own heart is our temple;
My philosophy is kindness.
His Holiness, the Dalai Lama
Well I remember way back in the mid 80s and my old friend Michael Lerner from Commonweal in California shared evidence linking chemicals in plastics with breast cancer particularly, and other health problems in general.
Michael’s research was compelling so most will know I have recommended doing all possible to keep plastics out of your food chain since then.
Decades have passed and slowly the risks have become better known. BPA (bisphenol A) emerged as one of the main culprits and public opinion has driven legislation to limit its use and seek substitutes.
So in 2019 does this mean some food plastics are OK to use?
Please note I have limited time and resources for this. It is written as if writing to one of the family and the hope is that you find it helpful… So while I did read and use many sources, I am not documenting what is written. It may well be incomplete, but it has been written with due diligence and represents the best I can offer on the subject. Let us examine the facts and the issues, and then attempt to reach some conclusions; starting with BPA itself.
What is BPA?
BPA is an industrial chemical used in the production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins.
In the ‘30s it was identified as a synthetic oestrogen and considered for pharmaceutical use but BPA-based plastics were first manufactured in the ‘60s.
Currently, millions of tonnes are produced each year, to make polycarbonates - for CDs, spectacles lenses, water bottles and other clear plastics, and resins - used to line food cans.
What risks are associated with BPA?
Basically, BPA is a hormone disruptor that mimics oestrogen and interferes with its healthy activity. Widely researched now, it has been associated with
i) Cancer
Particularly hormonally related cancers like breast and prostate cancers.
ii) Sexual function and anatomical issues
The oestrogen-like effects in women are associated with early onset of puberty in females, infertility, miscarriage, premature delivery and polycystic ovaries.
Then, as oestrogen can supress testosterone in males, it is associated with male genital defects, reduced sperm counts and reduced male sexual function.
iii) Obesity
In children and adults through stimulating the formation of extra fat cells.
iv) Behavioural problems in children
Including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, aggressiveness and impaired learning.
v) Other conditions
Altered thyroid and immune function, diabetes, heart disease, chronic respiratory and kidney diseases.
What a list!!!
How do we become exposed to BPA? A list of major sources…
i) Can linings (it is in both aluminium and steel based cans).
ii) Polycarbonate food containers and bottles (both re-useable and especially single use bottles), plus
food wraps. Heat, scratching and cleaning can all increase exposure. Fast foods with the packaging used are a major source.
iii) Thermal papers - these are those all so common supermarket receipts, movie tickets, lottery
tickets and the like.
Using hand moisturisers or handling receipts with wet hands increases the risks of absorption greatly.
iv) Microplastics - BPA tends to aggregate on the surface of microplastics. Given it is estimated average current US ingestion is a staggering 50 - 90,000 pieces of microplastic per person per year, this is another major source.
v) Children’s plastic toys remain a real concern, especially when you consider how young children put everything into their mouths. BPA has been banned for years from use in children’s bottles and dummies (where it was a major source of this chemical and affecting young children for decades).
vi) Dust also builds up BPA residues.
vii) Some toiletries and women’s hygiene products
viii) Many plastic eyeglasses
So what is the biggest source?
It is claimed 90% comes through our food chain. Fast and levels drop 10 fold in 10 days. Once clear, eat one can of food lined with PBA and levels go up hugely.
What level of exposure is common?
Based on testing, virtually everyone has some BPA in their body; in the US, 93% of all over 6 years - and disturbingly it is commonly found even in babies prior to birth.
Are there safe limits for BPA?
Authorities in both Australia and the US claim our exposure levels are safe. France has banned BPA in plastics for food use. So if safe levels are not being exceeded, why are there so many problems associated with BPA?
What about low dose effects of BPA?
It is well know chemicals that mimic hormones and hormone disruptors can have significant impacts at low dose while not being so bad or having different effects at high doses. While the science is debated, and not surprisingly rejected by Industry sources, many researchers claim a low dose of BPA could well be worse than a high dose and that these low dose effects are yet to be fully researched and evaluated.
What about BPA substitutes?
BPA is associated with many problems but at least it has been studied extensively and those problems are reasonably well understood. When BPA is taken out of plastics, it needs to be replaced with another chemical, and here is the rub.
When you see “BPA free” touted on some plastic bottle or metal can, the implication we often take is
it is now safe.
Unfortunately this may well be far from the truth.
The substitute chemicals invariably are less studied, less known and while some substitutes may well be safer, others are clearly implicated with worse issues than BPA.
This is what is known as a “regrettable substitution”.
However, to be balanced, it is worth pointing out there may be a trade off here. Through the TGA and the CMI, the remarkable safety record of canned foods is observed: “More than 3,000 people die and more than 40,000 are hospitalized from foodborne illnesses every year, yet there has not been a single reported incidence of foodborne illness from the failure of metal packaging in more than 40 years and the consumption of trillions of cans of food.”
However, there are still major concerns that do need addressing…
Next blog we shall cover other chemicals in food plastics, and what solutions are available to us.
Please do consider sharing this post with others; it feels like one of the more important ones for some time…
And comments welcome - click on the tab below…
Could easily write a PhD on this, but let us go Out on a Limb once more, summarise where we are at in 2019 and suggest how to avoid some potentially major health problems, but first
Thought for the day
There is no need for temples;
No need for complicated philosophy.
Our own brain, our own heart is our temple;
My philosophy is kindness.
His Holiness, the Dalai Lama
Well I remember way back in the mid 80s and my old friend Michael Lerner from Commonweal in California shared evidence linking chemicals in plastics with breast cancer particularly, and other health problems in general.
Michael’s research was compelling so most will know I have recommended doing all possible to keep plastics out of your food chain since then.
Decades have passed and slowly the risks have become better known. BPA (bisphenol A) emerged as one of the main culprits and public opinion has driven legislation to limit its use and seek substitutes.
So in 2019 does this mean some food plastics are OK to use?
Please note I have limited time and resources for this. It is written as if writing to one of the family and the hope is that you find it helpful… So while I did read and use many sources, I am not documenting what is written. It may well be incomplete, but it has been written with due diligence and represents the best I can offer on the subject. Let us examine the facts and the issues, and then attempt to reach some conclusions; starting with BPA itself.
What is BPA?BPA is an industrial chemical used in the production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins.
In the ‘30s it was identified as a synthetic oestrogen and considered for pharmaceutical use but BPA-based plastics were first manufactured in the ‘60s.
Currently, millions of tonnes are produced each year, to make polycarbonates - for CDs, spectacles lenses, water bottles and other clear plastics, and resins - used to line food cans.
What risks are associated with BPA?
Basically, BPA is a hormone disruptor that mimics oestrogen and interferes with its healthy activity. Widely researched now, it has been associated with
i) Cancer
Particularly hormonally related cancers like breast and prostate cancers.
ii) Sexual function and anatomical issuesThe oestrogen-like effects in women are associated with early onset of puberty in females, infertility, miscarriage, premature delivery and polycystic ovaries.
Then, as oestrogen can supress testosterone in males, it is associated with male genital defects, reduced sperm counts and reduced male sexual function.
iii) Obesity
In children and adults through stimulating the formation of extra fat cells.
iv) Behavioural problems in children
Including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, aggressiveness and impaired learning.
v) Other conditions
Altered thyroid and immune function, diabetes, heart disease, chronic respiratory and kidney diseases.
What a list!!!
How do we become exposed to BPA? A list of major sources…
i) Can linings (it is in both aluminium and steel based cans).
ii) Polycarbonate food containers and bottles (both re-useable and especially single use bottles), plus
food wraps. Heat, scratching and cleaning can all increase exposure. Fast foods with the packaging used are a major source.
iii) Thermal papers - these are those all so common supermarket receipts, movie tickets, lottery
tickets and the like.
Using hand moisturisers or handling receipts with wet hands increases the risks of absorption greatly.
iv) Microplastics - BPA tends to aggregate on the surface of microplastics. Given it is estimated average current US ingestion is a staggering 50 - 90,000 pieces of microplastic per person per year, this is another major source.
v) Children’s plastic toys remain a real concern, especially when you consider how young children put everything into their mouths. BPA has been banned for years from use in children’s bottles and dummies (where it was a major source of this chemical and affecting young children for decades).
vi) Dust also builds up BPA residues.
vii) Some toiletries and women’s hygiene products
viii) Many plastic eyeglasses
So what is the biggest source?
It is claimed 90% comes through our food chain. Fast and levels drop 10 fold in 10 days. Once clear, eat one can of food lined with PBA and levels go up hugely.
What level of exposure is common?
Based on testing, virtually everyone has some BPA in their body; in the US, 93% of all over 6 years - and disturbingly it is commonly found even in babies prior to birth.
Are there safe limits for BPA?
Authorities in both Australia and the US claim our exposure levels are safe. France has banned BPA in plastics for food use. So if safe levels are not being exceeded, why are there so many problems associated with BPA?
What about low dose effects of BPA?
It is well know chemicals that mimic hormones and hormone disruptors can have significant impacts at low dose while not being so bad or having different effects at high doses. While the science is debated, and not surprisingly rejected by Industry sources, many researchers claim a low dose of BPA could well be worse than a high dose and that these low dose effects are yet to be fully researched and evaluated.
What about BPA substitutes?
BPA is associated with many problems but at least it has been studied extensively and those problems are reasonably well understood. When BPA is taken out of plastics, it needs to be replaced with another chemical, and here is the rub.
When you see “BPA free” touted on some plastic bottle or metal can, the implication we often take is
it is now safe.
Unfortunately this may well be far from the truth.
The substitute chemicals invariably are less studied, less known and while some substitutes may well be safer, others are clearly implicated with worse issues than BPA.
This is what is known as a “regrettable substitution”.
However, to be balanced, it is worth pointing out there may be a trade off here. Through the TGA and the CMI, the remarkable safety record of canned foods is observed: “More than 3,000 people die and more than 40,000 are hospitalized from foodborne illnesses every year, yet there has not been a single reported incidence of foodborne illness from the failure of metal packaging in more than 40 years and the consumption of trillions of cans of food.”
However, there are still major concerns that do need addressing…
Next blog we shall cover other chemicals in food plastics, and what solutions are available to us.
Please do consider sharing this post with others; it feels like one of the more important ones for some time…
And comments welcome - click on the tab below…
We are using baking paper —begging the obvious question: "What is baking paper treated with???
ReplyDeleteBaking paper traditionally was very safe but newer “coated Papers” sold as baking paper have coatings that may be safe or not. Need to check labels and only buy if confident as the coatings may be plastic based and bad news if heated in the oven.
Delete