Preventable harm: Russ Hauser, a professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. "Stuck in limbo": Efforts to require the FDA and the Environmental Protection Agency to restrict phthalates "have been stuck in limbo for years" because companies that manufacture them maintain they are safe, The Intercept reported.Īnd while the Consumer Product Safety Commission and Congress prohibited the use of eight types of phthalates in toys, the FDA has not taken steps to limit the same compounds in food production, according to The Intercept. Studies continue to unveil risks: Just last week, a study from the University of California, Riverside, explored how exposure to phthalates can increase the risk of human cardiovascular disease - determining that the chemicals raise plasma cholesterol levels in mouse models.Īnother study released in October from George Washington University showed that common fast food items purchased at national chains like Burger King, Chipotle, Domino's, McDonald's, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell contain detectable amounts of phthalates, according to Hunter College's NYC Food Policy Center.Ī third study, conducted at NYU's Grossman School of Medicine, found that phthalates in plastic food containers and cosmetics may contribute to up to 100,000 premature deaths annually, the Food Policy Center reported. "It's past time for the FDA to act on all phthalates as a class of chemicals that do not belong in our food."ĭecades of scientific studies demonstrate that exposure to phthalates can lead to irreversible health harms, as the chemicals can leach out of these materials into infant formula, dairy products, meats, baked goods, cereals, snacks foods and other food products, the groups said.īut despite the ubiquitous nature of the compounds in so many foods and the clear health risks, phthalates are not disclosed on labels, the suit added. Ongoing health concerns: "Every phthalate that has been studied for health effects has been found to pose a health risk," Tom Neltner, chemicals policy director for Environmental Defense Fund, said in a statement. Why the lawsuit? Although a coalition of health and environmental advocates filed two petitions in 2016 asking the FDA to prohibit phthalates in food packaging and process materials, the FDA still has not acted - despite the fact that the administration was required by law to respond to that principal petition within 180 days, according to the suit.Įarthjustice filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Environmental Defense Fund, the Learning Disabilities Association of America, the Center for Food Safety, the Center for Environmental Health, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, Defend Our Health and Alaska Community Action on Toxics. "While FDA idles, babies and children are consuming phthalates in their food that endanger their brain development and long-term health," O'Brien added. Those health complications are particularly pronounced in young children, as well as communities of color and low-income individuals, in comparison to the general population, the groups said.įirst words: "FDA is sitting on years of scientific evidence that phthalates used in food packaging and processing materials are dangerous to human health," Earthjustice attorney Katherine O'Brien, whose organization filed the lawsuit, said in a statement. Phthalates - chemicals found in plastics that can interfere with hormone function - are linked to birth defects, infertility, miscarriage, learning disabilities and neurological disorders in children, according to the lawsuit. Please send tips or comments to Saul at or Sharon at Follow us on Twitter: and get to it.
Then we'll sit down with a group of Native American "solar warriors" who see renewable energy as the key to an economic and political renaissance for the tribal communities of the High Plains.įor Equilibrium, we are Saul Elbein and Sharon Udasin.
Today we'll look at a legal push from environmental groups to push the Food and Drug Administration to act on the hormone-disruptors lurking in our food packaging materials. The seagrass, killed off by algal blooms caused by human waste and fertilizer runoff, is now down by 90 percent, with conditions only expected to worsen as climate change ushers in further extreme weather, according to the Times. Wildlife officials link the sea mammals' decline to a loss of seagrass - a manatee dietary staple - in the Indian River Lagoon where the animals spend the winter.
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