As discussions begin in Paris on an agreement on plastic pollution, a recently published study points to the contamination of food and drinks that come into contact with recycled plastic.
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The flexibilityflexibility is MeaningMeaning Widely used in food and beverage packaging in the world; 20% of plastic produced is made for food products. These plastics, often used only once, are incinerated or end up in nature, causing massive pollution. The RecirculationRecirculation One of the proposed solutions to overcome this problem is But like other forms of plastic, recycled plastic can contaminate our food when it comes into direct contact with it MoleculesMolecules Chemicals whose effects on long-term health are not well known. A recent study published in Cambridge University Press Investigated this issue and found that harmful chemicals from recycled plastic can contaminate our food.
The health effects are still under debate
PET is a widely recycled type of plastic – used to make most plastic bottles – but recycled PET appears to contain chemical impurities that appear during the recycling process and migrate into the food it comes into contact with. A systematic review has been published Cambridge University Press indicating the presence of migration BenzeneBenzeneA known human carcinogen according to IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer)Styrene is classified as a possible human carcinogen despite limited evidence that it is carcinogenic in rats, and Bisphenol aBisphenol aAn endocrine gland.
The authors point out that there is very little information on the migration of chemical contaminants from recycled plastics other than PET.Polyethylene terephthalate) and comparisons between recycled and non-recycled plastics are scarce in the scientific literature. To date, we cannot know for sure whether recycled plastic is more or less polluting to our food than new plastic. Another concern is the use of non-food plastics Metal alloysMetal alloys Recycled plastics for food. They can also contaminate food with as-yet-unknown molecules. The long-term effects of contaminants from plastic food packaging are hotly debated among experts.
