Eighty percent of paper and cardboard food packaging contains toxic chemicals. This is the finding of a test conducted by the Swedish Chemicals Agency, which comes in stating‘our environmental quality goal is a non-toxic environment.’
Paper and cardboard packaging for food, the Swedish test
The analysis of MOCAs ( Food Contact Materials and Objects, or FCMs) in paper and cardboard is one part of the enormous work on mapping hazardous molecules that the Swedish Chemicals Agency (KEMI, Kemikalieinspektionen) has been doing since 2017 on behalf of the government.
The survey covered 61 materials. Pizza boxes, hamburgers, corn flakes and children’s drinks. Bags for chips and popcorn, muffin wrappers, cookies and other cereal products, straws, plates. Popular packaging materials have revealed serious food safety risks.
The outcome of the analysis
Eighty percent of the packages analyzed, 49 out of 61, were found to contain DEHP (bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate). An endocrine disruptor that in rodent tests caused harmful effects on the reproductive system, as we have seen. DEHP is banned in toys and products intended for early childhood. Instead, it is allowed in materials intended for food contact.
Other poisons were found by the test. Less frequently and in lower concentrations than DEHP, analyses have shown-among others-the presence of DBP (di-butylphthalate) and BPA (bisphenol A). They too are endocrine disruptors whose risks have so far been underestimated by European legislators.
From packaging to food
These plasticizing chemical compounds are widely used in the packaging and wrapping of solid and liquid foods. Since they are not chemically bound to the polymer where they are contained, they tend irreparably to migrate into the foods with which they are in contact, as we have seen.
Further cause for concern is the knowledge that migration of chemicals increases with heat and contact with fatty and/or acidic foods. And their concentration is highest in the smallest packaging, typical of products most consumed by children. These are all circumstances common to the packages tested by KEMI.
KEMI, the report
The mapping of chemicals in MOCAs in paper and paperboard has not yet been published; it will be published by the first quarter of 2021, KEMI tells us. Moreover, the data and table (see attached) were released in advance by the independent Swedish organization chemsec(International Chemical Secretariat).
KEMI’s report outlines the results of the government’s assignment, the goal of which is to increase knowledge about hazardous chemicals found in various materials, consumer items and chemicals, which are not yet restricted within the EU (see annex).
To this end, the agency has conducted mappings of the chemistry present on various materials (rubber and silicone, plastics, paper and cardboard, etc.) and targeted surveys on specific product lines. The paper and cardboard packaging under consideration here, feminine hygiene products, textiles, and children’s items.
For a non-toxic environment
The path to achieve the goal of‘a non-toxic environment‘ has three stages:
– identify the presence of the hazardous chemicals, which are disclosed to the public only in some cases (paints, detergents, for example),
– Introduce restrictive regulations to protect the environment and health (including through dialogue with the EU, as is happening in the MOCA regulatory review pathway),
– Replace dangerous molecules. Valuable in this regard is the ‘PRIO Substitution Guide’ updated by KEMI in October 2020 to help companies produce (or import) by discarding hazardous chemicals.
‘Replacement work is also a driving force for innovation and can provide new business and export opportunities for Swedish companies that are at the forefront of the environmental field,’ the Swedish Chemicals Agency points out.
Chemical toxicity of MOCAs and other everyday objects in EU
As it turns out, the European Commission continues to delay addressing chemical toxicity risks in MOCAs and other everyday objects. (2) Scholars have submitted a number of reports and appeals, as well as published a database of endocrine disruptors overlooked by the European Commission (3,4,5). Until when?
Marta Strinati
Attachments
Table with the result of monitoring on MOCAs in paper and cardboard
KEMI Report 3/20 Regeringsuppdraget om kartläggning av farliga ämnen 2017 – 2020
Notes
(1) Marta Strinati and Dario Dongo. EU Consultation on MOCAs. ISS’s position. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 21.1.20, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/imballaggi/consultazione-ue-sui-moca-la-posizione-di-iss
(2) Dario Dongo. Endocrine disruptors, consultation in Brussels. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 7.7.19, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/sicurezza/interferenti-endocrini-consultazione-a-bruxelles
See also Dario Dongo, Luca Foltran. Contaminants in food contact materials, paperboard and inks. BEUC report. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 1.8.19, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/imballaggi/contaminanti-nei-materiali-a-contatto-con-gli-alimenti-carta-cartone-e-inchiostri-rapporto-beuc
(3) Dario Dongo, Luca Foltran. Toxic chemicals in everyday objects, the English report. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 7/20/19, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/salute/sostanze-chimiche-tossiche-in-oggetti-di-uso-quotidiano-il-rapporto-inglese
(4) Marta Strinati, Dario Dongo. Chemical toxicity of food contact materials, researchers appeal. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 12.3.20, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/imballaggi/tossicità-chimica-dei-materiali-a-contatto-con-gli-alimenti-appello-dei-ricercatori
(5) Marta Strinati. Endocrine disruptors, a new database reveals Brussels’ omissions. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 12.6.20, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/sicurezza/interferenti-endocrini-una-nuova-banca-dati-rivela-le-omissioni-di-bruxelles
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
