Nearly 10,000 ‘hormone-warping’ chemicals can leach into your food from ONE plastic container, study finds

A single plastic box of sushi or take out curry can contain up to 10,000 hormone-warping chemicals that seep into the food – with potentially harmful consequences, a new study has found. 

Norwegian researchers tested different plastic food packaging from around the world, and found that almost all contained substances that interfere with the body’s hormones or metabolism.

The chemicals included bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates, which are known to be hormone disruptors and have already been banned in large amounts from certain products like baby bottles.

Exposure to these microscopic chemicals has been connected to a swathe of health problems, such as obesity, diabetes, reduced fertility, and certain cancers.

‘We found as many as 9,936 different chemicals in a single plastic product used as food packaging… we need to redesign plastic to make it safer,’ said study co-author Martin Wagner, a professor of biology at the NTNU.

A recent report by Consumer Reports found that 99 percent of the 85 foods and drinks it tested contained plasticizers – chemicals used to make plastic more flexible and durable.

The researchers involved in the latest study, from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU),  tested 36 different plastic food packaging products from the US, UK, Germany, Norway and South Korea, using a two-step process to determine what chemicals were concealed in the plastic.

To begin with, each plastic container was cut down into smaller pieces and dissolved the plastic in methanol.

This allowed the scientists to extract the chemicals in liquid form. 

The chemical mixtures were then put through a series of lab tests using human cells to see if they would activate or block human receptors involved in regulating our hormones and metabolism.

Tests included receptors for key hormones estrogen and testosterone. In women, estrogen contributes to reproductive and breast health, as well as cognitive and bone health. Testosterone regulates bone mass, fat distribution, muscle mass and strength.

The scientists found that 33 out of the 36 plastic products interfered with the activity of the pregnane X receptor, which is needed for detoxifying foreign substances and also plays a part in keeping blood sugar under control and fat metabolism.

Some 23 of the products contained chemicals activating the peroxisome proliferator receptor, which is thought to be the main regulator of fat cell development.

Chemicals that blocked testosterone receptors were found in 14 products, and chemicals mimicking estrogen were seen in 18 of the products.

But the researchers were unable to fully identify what the disruptive chemicals were.

A single piece of plastic can have thousands of distinct chemicals in it, many of which are not known about or poorly studied.

However, they did find some common chemicals, including bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates.

But the study suggested that even BPA-free plastics have other endocrine-disrupting substances in them that just have not been identified yet.

The researchers said that people should take food out of plastic containers and store it in glass or stainless steel ones, especially when reheating.

Consumers should also prioritize fresh goods that come without packaging to lower exposure to chemicals, they said.