FDA Allows Ongoing Use Of Toxic Chemicals That Leach Into Food And Drinks

 The Food and Drug Administration today affirmed its May 2022 decision to allow the ongoing use of phthalates, a class of toxic chemicals, in food packaging and food production equipment.

"Rather than fulfill its duty to protect public health from this toxic exposure, FDA has wasted years on delay tactics while both the evidence of phthalates' toxic effects and the human health toll continue to grow.

In 2016, a coalition of health and environmental advocates petitioned the FDA to ban companies' use of phthalates in plastic used to package and produce food.

Despite decades of scientific studies linking phthalates to serious and irreversible health harms, FDA has continued to allow the use of phthalates in food packaging and processing materials - including phthalates that were banned years ago from use in children's products because they are not safe.

"The risk of harm outweighs whatever advantages phthalates offer to the food industry. I hope in time, the FDA reverses the ill-considered decision it announced today. And the food industry needn't wait for the FDA to start eliminating these toxicants on their own."

"Babies in the U.S. are born pre-polluted with harmful phthalates, and food packaging and processing equipment is one of the largest remaining sources of unnecessary exposure. Prenatal development is a perilous time, and expecting parents should not have to worry about genital malformations, reproductive problems, and adverse neurodevelopment in their children because the FDA failed to act on phthalates," said Dr. Deborah Bennett, Professor, University of California, Davis.

"The FDA is entrusted with keeping food safe for all Americans. By failing to act on phthalates in food contact materials, the FDA is violating that trust."

https://earthjustice.org/press/2023/fda-allows-ongoing-use-of-toxic-chemicals-that-leach-into-food-and-drinks