Did you eat plastic for breakfast?

I did. (Toxic Chemicals, Part One).

This morning, I had two pieces of toast and some fruit for breakfast. Oh, and plastic.

I didn’t sit at my kitchen table munching on some plastic film or a yogurt container, thinking that this was just what I was craving. If I had, you could reasonably surmise that my toddlers finally pushed me over the edge. But I can assure you that this was a perfectly normal, otherwise uneventful morning— except I ate plastic.

See, this is how it happened. Turns out, each piece of my toast contained roughly 2,184 nanograms of phthalates. Toss in some butter (581 nanograms), and some fruit (an unclear serving size of plastic), and I had over 5,000 unwanted plastic particles in my breakfast.

And I bet you did too.

It turns out, our global food system has a pretty severe ‘toxic crap’ problem. You might remember, for example, the uproar about Bisphenol A (often referred to as just BPA) in the early 2010s, after a 2007 study by the CDC found detectable levels of BPA in 93% of tested urine samples for children and adults.

BPA is an industrial chemical that is used to make polycarbonate plastic, and, when formed into an epoxy resin, to prevent rusting in aluminum cans. But in the human body, BPA essentially mimics the hormone estrogen, meaning it can bind to anywhere with estrogen receptors— altering your body’s cells and causing cardiovascular, thyroid, and reproductive issues, among other things.

So of course, it’s not such a great thing that BPA was found in, well, virtually everybody. In fact, the uproar against BPA was enough to get BPA banned from baby bottles, and to see a plethora of metal cans suddenly advertising “BPA-free liners.” On the surface, this sounds great— except that in many cases, manufacturers simply switched to BPS, an equally carcinogenic product with a remarkably similar chemical makeup.

It’s like deciding your relationship with BPA didn’t work out, so you’ll give her sister a shot. Not your best plan. And one that leaves us, the consumers, playing a perpetual game of whack-a-mole against the next toxic chemical.

And well over a decade after the original BPA uproar, we find ourselves in the middle of a new uproar: Not only have we not solved bisphenol exposure, but it turns out we are also eating plasticizers with our breakfast (oh, and everything else).

But unlike plenty of other dangerous food additives— such as the carcinogen potassium bromate (found in many baked goods), BHA/ BHT (used as a preservative in cured meats and cereals, among other things), and artificial colors— plasticizers aren’t appearing on the ingredient list.

Even “Organic” Can’t Save You From Plastic

In fact, even if a food item is labeled as “organic” doesn’t mean it isn’t processed or packaged in a chemical sludge. Take Annie’s, for example. The beloved mac and cheese brand recently made headlines for having excessive phthalates, a class of chemicals often referred to as “plasticizers,” in their food. Phthalates are used to alter the properties of plastic, making it more flexible or durable.

Consumer Reports noted that, “Annie's Organic Cheesy Ravioli contained 53,579 nanograms of phthalates in a single serving, 75 percent higher than the closest canned pasta meal in its test.” Incidentally, Annie’s ravioli actually tested higher for phthalates than any of the 80+ products on the list.

I wish I didn’t have to tell you that I was, in fact, reading that very article while finishing the canned Annie’s organic pasta my girls had abandoned on their plate. Nothing quite like telling the world you almost threw up because you were reading about phthalates. Needless to say, Annie’s has not made a further appearance in our house.

A nanogram sounds small, right? And it is. In fact, a nanogram is one billionth of a gram. But don’t let that small sounding number reassure you. A 2014 study went so far as to call the idea of a “low dose” of a chemical a misnomer, noting that “environmental estrogen mimics [things like BPA and phthalates] are typically active in the nanomolar to micromolar range, although some show effects at even lower concentrations.”

Here, “active” means plasticizers are active in our bodies. Like, mimicking our hormones and causing organ damage. In fact, some studies have even begun drawing connections between a future child’s risk of certain cancers as an adult to phthalate exposure in utero. If you happen to be pregnant with a male, for example, studies have found that in utero exposure to phthalates can result in “reduced penile size and altered hormone levels in infant boys” as well as longer term effects like increased risk of testicular cancer and lower sperm counts, even into adulthood. Might want to re-think that plastic craving, mama.

And while I’ve noticed that headlines about male fertility have an oversized impact on public opinion, the problem is real. In fact, male sperm counts have halved in the last 40 years, and scientists are increasingly pointing to a “cocktail of chemical pollutants,” including BPA and phthalates, that the average person is exposed to in the course of their day.

But male reproductive issues aside, in-utero exposure to phthalates has also been linked to an increased risk of ADHD, and childhood exposure has been linked to increased instances of “allergic diseases” such as asthma and eczema. And, of course, not-so-great things like cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.

All the General Mills plastics in one picture! How exciting. Photo by Franki Chamaki on Unsplash

How did plastic get in our food, anyway?

While phthalates and other plasticizers are often intentionally added to everything from beauty products (the overly vague “fragrance” label in shampoos and other body care products is often hiding phthalates) to vinyl flooring, their addition in food products is unintentional. Phthalates have become so widespread in the environment that they can transfer to food products through water and soil. Phthalates are widely used for industrial purposes, and once released into the environment (through water and air pollution), new research is showing that it can be bio-accumulative, meaning they are “stored” or built up in animals and the natural environment.

And crucially, we’ve known for almost 20 years that phthalates in the environment can be dangerous. A 2007 study noted, for example, the health concerns “regarding the developmental and/or reproductive toxicity of phthalates, even in environmental concentrations.” Despite this evidence, one phthalate, Diethyl phthalate (DEP), is even used as a pesticide.

The biggest sources of phthalates in food, though, is conveyor belts and plastic tubing in the manufacturing process, and food packaging. In fact, roughly 2/3 of all phthalate exposure comes from drinking water and food, especially packaged and processed food.

And what’s worse is this: The phthalate problem is one that corporations have known about for years, including Annie’s in particular. A 2017 study found elevated levels of phthalates in powdered cheese products— but it took until 2021 for Annie’s to publicly claim it would work to eliminate phthalates in their macaroni supply chain. Three years later, the Consumer Reports study is clear that no progress has been made. And, of course, the catch-22 is this: Other brands might have lower levels of phthalates in their products, but aren’t necessarily organic. And it’s not like I have a handy-dandy phthalate tester in my back pocket, ready to whip out and test for plastic sludge in my pasta.

I reached out to Annie’s as an aggravated former-consumer, only to hear useless General-Mills corporate-speak: “We are committed to learning more to better understand this emerging issue and determine how Annie’s can be a part of the solution.” But, of course, a problem that has been well-documented for over a decade isn’t an “emerging issue.”

The real issue is that Annie’s— and other food manufacturers— don’t have a real incentive to change their manufacturing processes While plenty of people would be horrified to learn that they are eating plastic for breakfast, the 24 hours news cycle ensures that this kind of information doesn’t make headlines for more than a few hours.

And even for those of us who do know, we have limited alternatives. Although we can find some oddly specific recommendations on the Consumer Reports test list (for example, Pizza Hut pizzas have half the phthalates of a similar pizza from Little Caesar’s), their 80 or so tested products doesn’t exactly cover a full, well-balanced diet. And short of growing all our own wheat in the backyard, we all rely on some level of processed food.

Individual Action Steps

Most of the products we will get around to talking about have certification options— third-party tests like Oeko-Tex or GreenGuard Gold certifications that help you as a consumer make a more informed decision. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case with plasticizers in food, at this point.

If you are worried about your or your loved ones’ exposure, there are a few steps you can take:

• Whenever possible, “shop the perimeter” of the grocery store. Here, you are looking for fresh fruits and vegetables and lightly processed food items. As soon as fruit or veggies hit a can, the number of phthalates soars. (Interestingly, the Consumer Reports tests actually found lower numbers of phthalates in bagged frozen vegetables than canned, which is unfortunate).

• Fast food— even brands with ‘healthier’ reputations like Chipotle— tend to have high concentrations of phthalates.

• Meat (both poultry and beef) tend to have higher concentrations of phthalates than seafood. Grains (like pasta) tend to be lower in phthalates, although the same isn’t necessarily true for processed cereal. General Mills branded products (which yes, includes Annie’s), in particular, seem to have obnoxiously high levels of phthalates relative to other products.

• High-fat dairy items (whole milk and cream) have higher levels of phthalates than lower-fat options (like 2% or skim milk). Oils and butters contain phthalates basically across the board.

• Don’t microwave in plastic, and remove plastic from your rotation of cooking utensils and food storage items. (I’ll offer some specific recommendations on alternatives when we talk more about kitchenware).

Also, as I’ve been reminding myself roughly 5 times a day since learning more than I ever wanted to know about plastic, a girl’s still gotta eat. As someone who appreciates straightforward delineations (plastic baby toys= bad, wood toys= good), it can be enormously frustrating to know that even the “best” available food options are still likely to contain dangerous plasticizers. That’s what makes this a public health issue.

The most effective way to get plasticizers out of food is to be a disgruntled consumer.

Unfortunately, where you live matters. In a stark difference for supposedly developed continents, just last month, the European Union voted to limit a sub-group of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, often referred to as “forever chemicals”) from food packaging. In contrast, within the past week, a United States federal appeals court prevented the EPA from banning a manufacturing process that contaminated food packaging (including ketchup and mayonnaise bottles) with extraordinarily high levels of PFOA. And to be clear, the ruling didn’t dispute the risks posed by forever chemicals in our food chain, it just questioned the Food and Drug Administration’s ability to regulate… Food.

The same is true of phthalates, which have been at least partially restricted by the EU for over a decade. In the United States, the FDA has repeatedly declined to regulate phthalates in food packaging, despite numerous petitions by advocacy and consumer groups to do so.

Want to be a disgruntled consumer? Write to a company.

Pick a company— any food company. It might be particularly useful to pick one from the Consumer Reports list, so you can clearly identify that their products do, in fact, have phthalates. Of course, send any message you want, but here’s an easy-peasy template if you just want to copy and paste.

"Hi, I’m a customer who is increasingly concerned about the health effects of phthalates, an endocrine disruptor that has been linked to a range of health problems, including cancer and cardiovascular, respiratory, and reproductive problems. I noticed that your products made it onto Consumer Reports recent list of foods that contained an alarmingly high number of phthalates. I certainly don’t want to be eating plastic, and this new information is making me re-think my brand loyalty. I was hoping to learn more about the action steps you plan to take to reduce phthalate exposure in your manufacturing process? Thank you.”

Want to be a disgruntled citizen? Write to the FDA.

(Or other applicable regulatory agency, if you live outside the United States).

It is nothing short of unacceptable that regulatory agencies charged with protecting consumers continue to protect profits while poisoning people. You can sign the Consumer Reports petition to the FDA here, or draft your own letter to the FDA or a federal representative.

Oh, and do try to savor your meals today, plastic and all.