To eat healthy, it is not enough to select organic and natural foods, it is also necessary to resist the appeal of colorful hydrocarbon packaging that migrate into food and make us eat our cornflakes flavored with mineral oils… After the revelations of the survey conducted by the association Foodwatch, a small point on the toxicity of packaging is needed.
Take care of what things you eat are in
The food we eat is exposed during packaging to products that are not always neutral. And contaminate the food they contain. Fortunately, for consumers, the associations, by financing independent laboratory to analyzes, raise public awareness and force industrialists and governments to review dangerous industrial practices and introduce rules to avoid health risks.
While waiting for regulations to evolve, it’s up to us to select what we put in our shopping basket!
Packaging in recycled paper and cardboard
According to the Foodwatch association survey, there would be MOSH (saturated hydrocarbons) and MOAH (aromatised hydrocarbons) in our food … Experts estimate that on average, there is at least 1 gram as the amount of mineral oil present in our body! Mineral oils can migrate into foods through several sources throughout the production process. Printed packaging, especially those made from recycled cardboard, can be one of the main sources of contamination. There is no specific regulation regarding recycled paper and cardboard materials coming into contact with foodstuffs.
That is why we always suggest to add inner bags for food and use eco-friendly materials when clients ask for food packaging.
Aluminum packaging
In 2000, an epidemiological study showed the neurotoxicity of aluminum, such as Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. The main route of exposure to aluminum for the population is that by food. According to the European Food Safety Authority, some consumers can absorb 2.3 milligrams per kilogram per week, more than twice the tolerable dose for humans… Aluminum can be introduced into food from pots, cooking utensils or packaging. And the risk of contamination is even more obvious in the presence of acids or salts that increase the concentration of aluminum in food. So you should be aware!
Our advice: Ban dishes packed in aluminum trays, aluminum foil for packing food or cooking and aluminum cans. Prefer glass containers.
Plastic packaging
Not only does plastic pollute the planet and its oceans, but also it is more than indigestible. Many studies show that toxic elements present in plastics can migrate into food, and make presence of Bisphenol A, phthalates and other endocrine disruptors. Attention, the plastic takes different forms, each of them having very special properties. The most harmful in contact with food are:
PET: used for water bottles, trays and plastic cooking bags. PET bottles can migrate traces of antimony trioxide. This compound is classified as possibly carcinogenic. It is for this reason that you should not consume bottled water that has been exposed to the sun.
Polystyrene: used to make cups, disposable cutlery and dairy packaging (yogurts, trays). Polystyrene contains styrene, a possible carcinogen for humans, which, when heated, is likely to migrate into food.
Polycarbonate: it can release traces of bisphenol A in food. Note that in the European Union, the use of polycarbonate is now prohibited in the manufacture of baby bottles, but it remains authorized for other packaging (cans, food containers, dishes …). This category also contains other plastics such as polysulfone and polyethersulfone.
However, there is not too much to worry about. During our experience of packaging business, most participants, including us and our clients, when taking business for foods, are very cautious and concerned about the safety of customers’ health, what’s more, it won’t be too much more expensive to take safe materials than to use something less costly but also less reliable to pack the food. It is by nature the responsibility for food companies and packaging suppliers like us to take care about the safety of customers. It is proven today that only durability can be the key to a long-term winning business.