Shock study reveals store cupboard favourite is laced with alarming amounts of toxic 'plasticisers', possible cancer cause

Daily Mail​

22-04-2025

Scientists have exposed the common foods that are teeming with worrying levels of toxic chemicals that have been linked to Alzheimer's and cancer.
Baby foods like pureed vegetables, fresh meat and cereals were found to contain high quantities of plasticisers - chemicals that are added to plastic containers to make them durable and flexible.
Extreme levels were also found in microwave-in-a-bag vegetables like broccoli and potatoes.
Once heated for just five minutes, chemicals in these foods increased 50 times, according to new research from experts at the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research in Barcelona, Spain.
Cooking oils, meanwhile, were found to contain the least amount of plasticisers of the 109 food samples studied.
Some of these substances have been found to interfere with the body's hormones like oestrogen and testosterone, while others are linked to increased risk of Alzheimer's and liver disease.
In the study, which was published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, scientists looked for traces of more than 20 different harmful plastic additives in over 100 foods sold in Spanish supermarkets.
Foods were categorised into eight groups including baby food, condiments, fish products, eggs and dairy, meat, oils, fruit and vegetables and cereals, legumes and sweet products.
The products were then tested for plastic chemicals both before and after cooking, either using a microwave or oven.
Scientists detected concerning levels of more than two dozen types, including organophosphate esters (OPEs) which are also used as flame retardants - found in 85 per cent of products sampled.
These substances have been linked to a number of health harms, including thyroid cancer, asthma, allergies and problems with foetal development.
Also of concern to the scientists were high levels of hormone-disrupting ace tyltributyl citrates (ATCBs) and DEHAs, chemicals used in food packaging to make plastics such as clingfilm bendy and transparent.
Meat and baby food were found to contain the largest quantities of OPEs, ATCBs and DEHAs.
These substances are a different class to what's become commonly known as 'forever chemicals', such as phthalates, which are thought to remain in the body and environment for several years, leading to long-term health harms.
Amid the concern about forever chemicals, food manufacturers have made use of alternative substances to create plastic packaging.
However, the scientists behind the new study say these alternatives may carry just as many risks.
They added, however, that more work needs to be done to establish the level of exposure that results in human harm.
These chemicals are currently authorised for food contact use under both US and EU regulatory frameworks, they added.
Meat was followed by cereals, legumes like chickpeas and lentils and sweet products, when analysing prevalence of plasticisers.
The researchers found that cooking ready-to-cook broccoli and potato bags, which have longer cooking times of between 5 and 7 minutes respectively, increased levels of microplastics up to 50 times.
Co-author Julio Fernández-Arribas said: 'The results presented in this study confirm the presence of various types of plasticisers in foodstuffs, and emphasises the potential source of exposure to new alternative plasticisers whose long-term health effects are under scrutiny'.
Microplastics have worried scientists for decades.
While the long-term effects of microplastics on human health remain unclear concern is rising because avoiding them is almost impossible.
A recent study even found using a single tea bag could release billions of dangerous microplastics into the body.
Microplastics have been found in variety of other human tissue including the intestines and even in men's sperm.