Widespread evidence for packaging-related chemicals in humans

About this study: A new review is the first to reveal the extent of human exposure to food contact chemicals (FCC), with 3,601 chemicals used in food packaging and other food contact articles having been found in human bodies. The authors say this review also highlights significant gaps in biomonitoring and toxicity data.

---

In a new study, published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, scientists describe the widespread human exposure to food contact chemicals (FCCs). The research reveals which chemicals used in food packaging and other food contact articles have been found in human samples, such as urine, blood, and breast milk. It also highlights significant gaps in biomonitoring and toxicity data. The data are made available in an interactive tool, the FCChumon database, which was compiled by a team of researchers from the Food Packaging Forum, together with colleagues from four academic institutions.

In a systematic approach, the authors compared over 14,000 known FCCs with data from five human biomonitoring programs, three metabolome/exposome databases, and scientific literature. This revealed evidence of 3,601 FCCs present in humans, representing 25% of the known FCCs. Dr. Birgit Geueke, first author of the study, emphasizes the importance of this work: “Our research establishes a link between food contact chemicals, exposure and human health. It also highlights those chemicals that have been overlooked in biomonitoring studies so far. And it offers an important opportunity for prevention and protection of health.”

Certain groups of chemicals, such as bisphenols, PFAS, phthalates, metals, and volatile organic compounds, have been widely detected in human samples and food contact materials (FCMs). Many of these chemicals have hazard properties of concern and have been linked to harming human health. Dr. Jane Muncke, senior author, expresses concern over this widespread exposure: “This work highlights the fact that food contact materials are not fully safe, even though they may comply with regulations, because they transfer known hazardous chemicals into people. We would like this new evidence base to be used for improving the safety of food contact materials – both in terms of regulations but also in the development of safer alternatives.”

Additionally, for other chemicals that transfer from the packaging into the food, such as synthetic antioxidants and oligomers, little is known about their presence and fate in humans. Dr. Ksenia Groh from the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology comments on this knowledge gap: “Our study highlights that antioxidants, despite their high production volumes and widespread use in plastics, are largely absent from monitoring programs. The knowledge about metabolism, fate, and effects of these substances is generally scarce.”

In addition to this, the study pointed out that many chemicals' potential hazards have not been sufficiently investigated. While food packaging is not the only source of exposure, the data from this study will improve the understanding of how food contact materials contribute to human exposure. It is likely that the actual number of FCCs present in humans is higher than currently detected because only a subset of FCCs was investigated in detail. Prof. Dr. Martin Scheringer, co-author from ETH Zürich, stressed the urgency of addressing this issue: “There are surprisingly many hazardous chemicals used in food contact materials, and they do not just stay there, but quite some of them reach, to some extent, the human body. This is concerning, and there clearly is a need for safer and simpler food contact materials.”

These results aim to help researchers focus on important gaps in our knowledge about human exposure to FCCs and better understand the health effects of these chemicals. As co-author Olwenn Martin from University College of London states, “we already knew that problematic chemicals in food packaging are not limited to well-known substances such as bisphenol and phthalates, but we were surprised by the high number of food contact chemicals for which some evidence of human exposure exists. This shows that there needs to be more research about the toxicity and exposure to many chemicals and regulation around their use in food packaging.”

All the data can be easily accessed and browsed in the accompanying Database on Food Contact Chemicals Monitored in Humans (FCChumon). FCChumon builds on the previously published Food Contact Chemicals Database (FCCdb) and Database on Migrating and Extractable Food Contact Chemicals (FCCmigex). This work is part of the Food Contact Chemicals & Human Health (FCCH) project.