Are Plastic Food and Beverage Containers Safe?

Question: Have plastic food and beverage containersnot even for a prolonged period of time." However,
been proven safe?Answer: No.During the film'swhat was deemed acceptable levels of phthalates in
graduation party in THE GRADUATE, Mr. McGuire pulls2003 now is recognized as "crystal clearly" too
Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) aside to offerhigh.Selective interpretations from the ACC (American
sage advice for his future. His future would be oneChemistry Council) lead to this erroneously high level
word: "plastics."Of course, we all know Mr. McGuire'sbeing "set" for past toxicity standards. The ACC is an
advice and prognostication was correct. Plastics can"industry group" advisor. It's much like the wolf
only be made by man in his infinite wisdom, henceguarding the henhouse. Thanks to the ACC efforts,
they are patentable. The profit in the manufacture ofcontrol regulations placed upon this chemical class are
plastics has been huge. Plastics are everywhere.minimal. An ongoing perpetuation of phthalate
Plastic manufacturing now uses 4% of the world's oilapproval for use in virtually everything, including
production annually. Automobiles are now 9% plastic.containment of food, has resulted. In fact, the
It is of my special concern that more foods andperpetuation of these mythological high safety
beverages are being put into plastic containers.standards has resulted in the majority of our food
Plastics are ubiquitous now. They persist andbeing wrapped or contained in plastics that leach
accumulate in our society as their production exceedsEDC's into our foods.The ACC's Phthalate Esters
their chemical degradation rate. Harmful chemicalsPanel is made up representatives from BASF,
from plastics are now commonly found inEastman Chemical, Exxon-Mobil Chemical, Ferro, and
groundwater, waterways, and drinking water.WhileTeknor Apex Corporations. After graduating,
standing out in the summer heat in Phoenix, ArizonaBenjamin could have gone to work for any of these
in 1981, my girlfriend asked me what was causing thecompanies to share the wealth that plastics
film to form on the inside of the windshield of hermanufacturing have reaped, instead of hanging
new Mazda 626. She said that she had to wipe it offaround and sporting Mrs. Robinson for the summer!I
every morning so she could see to drive to work. Ilove one of the rationalization examples the ACC
didn't know then. I do now! It was phthalates, themakes on their PHTHALATES INFORMATION
chemical that was added to the plastic dash cover toCENTER webpage: "Thanks to phthalates, your nail
soften it and prevent cracking. I'm sure by now mostpolish doesn't chip." I wonder if they are aware of
of the phthalate has evaporated into our atmospherethe "unexplained" high rate of breast cancer in
and the Mazda is in some junkyard with a cracked upmanicurists. I also wonder if they are aware that
dash.Phthalates are EDC's (Endocrine Disruptingmost breast tissues and breast cancers have sex
Chemicals.) They are chemicals found in recyclehormone receptors that are acted upon by the EDC's
codes #1 through #6 plastics. Another EDC (Bisphenolfound in plastics.To further confuse the public, the
A) is in recycle code #7 plastics. All of these types ofACC webpage also redefines the PRECAUTIONARY
plastic EDC's interfere with the function of sexPRINCIPLE which in its un-perverted definition simply
hormones receptors. In THE GRADUATE Benjaminis: A (chemical) should not be considered safe until it
was quite a stud. I wonder if he's now taking one ofis proven safe. Environmentalists who are trying to
the popular drugs to treat erectile dysfunction, aunravel the cause-effect relationships of environment
disorder that has become one of the many epidemicschemicals, to the otherwise unexplained epidemics of
in our new plastic world.In 2003 a group of Croatianvarious diseases now affecting man as well as every
scientists reported that phthalates in plastics dissolvedspecies on our planet, encourage its application. The
in various solutions. They used a variety of plasticACC's watered down version suggests that cost
items, including plastic food containers. After 10 dayseffective, fearless risks are worth taking.Can the
of sitting in distilled water, an average of 55.4 mg/ ofACC keep up the phthalate safety illusion forever?
phthalates from each kilogram of plastic "migrated"The American Tobacco Association almost got away
into the water. To a lesser degree the phthalateswith it!We now know that EDC's, like hormones
from plastics dissolved into acetic acid 3% (44.4 mgthemselves require very minute amounts to have
kg) and 10% ethyl alcohol (32.3 mg/kg).The Croatianphysiologic impact. EDC's are active in parts per trillion!
study shows what Benjamin would suspect, if heFor example, the usual adult maintenance dose of
took chemistry in college: Water is the universallevothyroxine, a drug to replace depleted natural
solvent; and it dissolves even the primarily fat solublethyroid hormone in hypothyroidism, is 1.6 micrograms
phthalates. The more that you filter water toKg/day. Why would I even think about saying that a
remove other toxic solutes, the more aggressivedose in the milligrams (1000 times as much as a
water becomes in its power to reach osmolarmicrogram) of a known EDC would be safe,
equilibrium by dissolving its non-inert containers.Whatespecially for a child or developing fetus?We now
is also obviously missing from the Croatians'know that phthalates also work in synergy with
controlled, static testing model are the temperaturechemicals in other classes to exert "more than
variations that the plastic bottled water product goesadditive" physiologic effects.Previous experiments in
through to get from bottling point to the mouth ofrodents showed that high levels of phthalates interfer
the consumer. Transport trucks probably reach awith testosterone during gestation resulting in birth
very high temperature in the non refrigerated cargodefects of the genitalia, testicular cancer, and
areas that carry PETE (recycle code #1 plastic)infertility in the rats.The ACC inspired acceptable level
bottled water in the summer. Heat facilitates theof phthalate myth should be blown out of the water
dissolution of phthalates into the water. Then thewith a recent study completed by the University of
bottles may be stored for a much longer time thanRochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. This
10 days prior to consumption. Furthermore, freezingstudy of 85 human infant boys reported in May 2005
the containers produces micro-fissures in the interiorshowed that phthalate levels found normally in the
surface of the plastic bottle container as the watergeneral population adversely influenced sexual
expands, exponentially exposing more solute surfacedevelopment. The phthalate exposure these children
area. Traumatic handling or any motion of thehad correlated with smaller penis size and incomplete
package will further enhance diffusion. Applying thetesticular descent, which is a condition that greatly
laws of physics, all of these factors clearly byincreases the risk of testicular cancer if left
extrapolation will increase the water dissolution of theuntreated.Solution 1 - Choose glass containers over
plastic containers.Fatty foods in plastic containers areplastic for purchase and storage of food and
even more problematic, as fats are absorbedbeverages including milk and water.American children
differently and carry their phthalate solvents into ourcan consume several milligrams of phthalate each
bodies more easily. Phthalates bio-accumulate becauseday.I wonder if THE GRADUATE's Mr. Robinson
of their fat solubility. Phthalates concentrate in suchnoticed that most of the teenage girls now-days
fat organs in our bodies such as brains, prostates,have bigger breasts than his seductive wife
testicles, ovaries, breasts and, unfortunately, breast(gynecomastia), and that they begin thelarche
milk. (The other popular food alternatives for infants(breast development) and menarche (menstruation)
are worse. Commercial baby formulas are loaded withat a significantly younger age, or that many more
the manmade phthalates.)I think the worst examplehave an endocrine pathology called PCOS (polycystic
of food containment in plastic is milk. All milk exceptovary syndrome).The chances of a woman getting
non-fat milk contains fat. Cow milk itself represents abreast cancer in her lifetime has probably gone from
major source of the fats ingested by the public,a risk of less than 1 in 10 (10%) before THE
especially children. Cattle concentrate these chemicalsGRADUATE was made to a 1 in about 7.5 (13.2 %)
by bioaccummulation because EDC's from plastics arerate today.The choice to avoid food chain plastics is
ubiquitous in water and most animal food sources.a "no-brainer" when you understand how these
Meat and dairy products are therefore a majorchemicals persist and accumulate in our environment,
contributor to this group of human food chain derivedand how they function in our bodies!Solution 2 -
toxins, regardless of their containment. It is nowChoose stainless steel containers over plastic for
irresponsible to add more phathalates to the productsstorage of food and beverages including
by putting the milk products in plastic containers thatwater.Unfortunately, we are past the point of no
add MORE EDC's.Cattle have intentially beenreturn with phthalates. Just like
"fattened up" by adding hormones AND unintentiallycigarettes I think we'll have to live as prisoners with
"fattened up" more by the contamination of cattletheir impact on future generations. The only defense
food and water by EDC's. The combination of thesewe have at this time is to individually choose to avoid
chemicals passed on to the consumers inthem when we can, to mitigate their effects on our
concentrated form in milk products will most likelyhealth.Phthalates clearly act upon hormone receptors
exacerbate obesity in humans that consume them asin both men and women. A concern is the potential
well.Our current scientific knowledge and commonphthalate impact on breast and other hormone
sense screams for an end to consumer purchase ofsensitive tissue in human females, but phthalate's
milk bottled in plastics. Until milk companies have theirdemasculinizing potential on males is more of a threat
products quantatatively analysed for these EDC's byto all species on the planet.Unlike Mr. McGuire, I think
competent independant laboratories, my strongwe can choose a better future by avoiding his "one
recommendation is to avoid purchase andword." We should start by trying to reduce plastics in
consumption of milk and dairy products contained inour food chain exposures.Bottom line:
plastic.Sadly, the Croatian authors' 2003 conclusionsI would strongly advise consumers to purchase
about the safety of plastics were: "These (exposure)beverages and non-solid food products packaged in
levels would not present a hazard for human health,glass rather than plastic if given the choice.