Research identifies nearly 200 potential breast cancer-causing substances in food packaging materials

Researchers at the Food Packaging Forum identify and discuss nearly 200 potential breast carcinogens detected in food contact materials (FCMs) on the market. Many countries have food contact materials legislation designed to protect citizens from hazardous chemicals, often specifically by regulating genotoxic carcinogens.

The research was published in Frontiers in toxicology .

Because cancer is one of the few health endpoints specifically targeted by FCM regulations and testing, carcinogenic chemicals in food packaging and other food contact materials and objects should not be commonplace.

“This study is important because it shows that there is tremendous opportunity for the prevention of human exposure to breast cancer-causing chemicals,” said Jane Muncke, chief executive of the Food Packaging Forum and co-author of the study.

“The potential for cancer prevention by reducing dangerous chemicals in your daily life is under-explored and deserves much more attention.”

By comparing a recently published list of potential breast cancer-causing chemicals developed by scientists at the Silent Spring Institute with the Food Packaging Forum’s own database on migratory and extractable chemicals that come into contact with food (FCCmigex), the authors find that 189 potential breast cancer-causing substances have been detected in FCMs, including 143 in plastic and 89 in paper or cardboard.

“Identifying the presence of these hazardous chemicals in food contact materials was possible thanks to our FCCmigex database,” said Lindsey Parkinson, data scientist and scientific editor at the Food Packaging Forum and lead author of the study.

“This resource brings together valuable information from thousands of published scientific studies on chemicals in food contact materials in a single and easily exploreable location.”

Limiting the comparison to the most recently available studies in FCCmigex (2020-2022) that used migration experiments simulating real-world conditions, there is evidence of exposure to 76 suspected breast cancer agents from FCMs purchased around the world , of which 61 (80%) are made of plastics. This indicates continued exposure of the world’s population to these chemicals under realistic conditions of use.

Despite existing regulations intended to limit carcinogens in FCMs, the study highlights gaps in current regulatory frameworks. The food contact items have been purchased in recent years from markets in highly regulated regions, including the EU and the US.

“Our findings imply that chronic exposure of the entire population to suspected carcinogens in the mammary glands of FCMs is the norm and highlights an important, but currently underappreciated, opportunity for prevention,” the authors explain.

Supplied by the Food Packaging Forum Foundation