Chemical Exposure: Is It Time To Panic?

Recently, the reports on chemical exposure in our food supply have been increasing. Our concern is that children exposed to these chemicals may experience harmful effects as they grow and develop. The question is, what should we as parents do about it? Is it time to panic? The short answer is no, but it’s important to understand what these reports mean and what they don’t mean.

Let’s start with the American Academy of Pediatrics statement on chemical additives in food. The statement is addressing the additives that are both in food and in food containers. These chemicals are there to serve a purpose, whether to make our food last longer or improve the packaging it comes in. While some of these chemicals have been studied by the Food and Drug Administration, the concern from the AAP is that the studies are either outdated or incomplete. Does that mean that all of the chemicals are unsafe? No. It means that we don’t have good data either way. Some of the main chemicals mentioned in the report are known compounds like phthalates and BPA (bisphenol A).  Both of these are thought to cause a disruption in the endocrine system, the system that regulates the hormones in our body, specifically hormones responsible for puberty and sexual development. They are also thought to increase the risk of obesity. Most of the studies that show these effects are from animal studies and not humans. While it makes sense to avoid these chemicals, keep in mind that they will likely be replaced with other potentially toxic compounds. More studies are needed on chemicals previously considered safe which have been grandfathered into the FDA and, as pointed out by the AAP report, the FDA is not authorized to re-study them. Hopefully this call from the AAP to re-investigate food additives will help provide more data on what is safe and what is not. Until then, don’t panic. While it’s not entirely reasonable to expect every family to avoid all plastics and all packaged foods, there are some things you can do to reduce your exposure.

  • Use glass storage containers or baby bottles instead of plastic. Also, try stainless steel water bottles instead of plastic.
  • Avoid putting plastic in the microwave as heat can increase the likelihood that chemicals leach into the food.
  • Avoid putting plastic in the dishwasher for the same reason stated above.
  • Try to provide a variety of fresh foods to your children to reduce pre-packaged foods and containers.
  • Avoid products with the recycling codes 3, 6, or 7. If the are “green” or biodegradable they are ok.
  • Don’t forget the huge environmental impact from plastics which not only come from petroleum but clutter up the landfills and oceans, making them very dangerous for marine life. Reduce, reuse and recycle.

Another new bit of information released recently involves the herbicide glyphosate. Researchers found traces of glyphosate, the herbicide found in Roundup, in the breakfast cereal Cheerios and oatmeal products from Quaker Oats. This came just days after a California jury awarded a man who worked with Roundup almost $300 million from Monsanto, the company who makes Roundup. The man claimed that his cancer was caused by exposure to glyphosate. Scientific data does not conclude that glyphosate is associated with cancer, furthermore a jury of 12 people is not equivalent to scientific consensus and should not be used as evidence. For more information on the lawsuit and the cancer claim, check out this excellent article from Science Based Medicine.

So what should parents do with this information. For one, deep breath. The likelihood that your child is exposed to extensive amounts of glyphosate is low and keep in mind our bodies do a good job of processing the chemicals in our food (both natural and synthetic). The report came from the Environmental Working Group, which is a non-profit heavily funded by the organic industry. They used much lower cut off levels of glyphosate than used by the FDA or the state of California. Of note, California has more stringent standards and lower cut off levels than the FDA. This article from Slate provides a great explanation of the math involved in toxicity (the dose makes the poison) and why the levels found by EWG may not really be of concern. If glyphosate still concerns you, it is an option to switch to an all organic diet. HOWEVER, organic farming still uses pesticides. In fact, because organic pesticides are not as effective as conventional pesticides, more has to be used. For an excellent review on the myths surrounding organic v conventional farming, I strongly encourage you to read this article. Furthermore, organic food tends to be more expensive, making a varied diet cost prohibitive for some families if they choose to only eat organic. Overall, every family has to do what is best for them. To help reduce exposure:

  • Offer your family a variety of whole fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean protein and calcium sources.
  • Always wash all produce, even if it is organic (read the article).
  • Try to limit packaged goods when you have the time and it’s convenient.
  • Try to visit local farmer’s markets, talk to farmers and support local businesses.

Finally, a new Consumer Reports investigation has found levels of heavy metals in baby food. These include arsenic, cadmium and lead. Arsenic levels tend to be high in rice and rice-products because it is found in the soil where rice is produced. It’s higher in brown rice than white rice. Furthermore, this is related to more global soil and water contamination, as opposed to the practices of individual farmers. This means that organic and inorganic foods are equally affected. The best way to limit your baby’s exposure is to offer a wide variety of foods and limit sweet potato and rice products. For more information on the brands studied, click the link above.

As you can see, the overall theme in reducing your children’s risk of potentially harmful chemical exposure, is to offer a variety of healthy, whole foods and wash all foods well. Also remind everyone preparing food to wash their hands well after touching anything that might expose them to pathogens. Try to limit packaging as much as possible and look for alternatives to plastic storage. Again, all families have to do what is best for them so don’t feel like you have to do it all. If you still have questions, talk to your pediatrician.

Published by DrJaimeFriedman

I am a mom and pediatrician here to dispense timely and accurate information about the health and well being of children. Please see my first blog post, which explains how I got started. Remember, this is not a substitute for medical advice and is not a private platform. Enjoy!

3 replies on “Chemical Exposure: Is It Time To Panic?”

  1. Thank you for trying to bring some sense to all the fear based headlines. Many of us use plastics regularly but I am one to think the headlines over state things and we should simply be mindful of how we’re using them. I’ll probably decrease how much I use plastic in the microwave and I hand wash plastic containers usually anyway, but I won’t stop using plastics all together. At least not all at once.

    1. I think it’s unrealistic to expect everyone to stop all plastics or convenient foods. There is also a certain amount of financial (and time) privilege that comes with being able to eat only organic or never used processed foods. As long as you do what you feel comfortable with given what we currently know, I think you’re doing great!

  2. Dear Dr. Friedman,
    I appreciate your attempt to try to put things into perspective for the parents and grandparents of your patients. You hit the nail on the head by giving readers steps they can take to reduce exposure to toxic chemicals in our food, water, and packaging. And like you mentioned, critical thinking skills are so important in judging the sources of scary news.
    There are a couple of points I would like to mention regarding plastics:
    1. The building block of plastic is ethylene, which is derived from ethane, which is a hydrocarbon drilled and fracked out of oil and gas wells. Public health and communities are damaged from fracking, which has exploded in many populated areas of the U.S. This statement is not political or controversial for public health scientists and physicians studying the health impacts of fracking.
    2. Plastic is produced in huge petrochemical factories. Wherever petrochemical plants exist, cancer rates increase in people living, working, and playing in proximity. (These communities are known as “Cancer Alleys.”)
    3. Life on Earth appears to be experiencing a global ecological catastrophe regarding plastic. More of it is not what nature needs right now.
    4. Some components of plastic contained in some plastic products act as endocrine disrupters. This has enormous potential to impact fetal organogenesis, growth and development, infant cognitive growth and development, adolescent secondary sexual development, and cause cancer. It is an impossible expectation to await more human studies showing causation due to very obvious ethical limitations of study design. Animal studies will have to do; assessing impacts on actual children will probably remain associated with exposure.
    5. Where there is enough scientific consensus indicating potential harm from an activity (eg. using BPA and phthalates in plastic and in packaging), parents and consumers should expect that activity to cease (“Precautionary Principle”).
    6. As you well know, children are not little adults. Their still-growing, immature organs and immune systems do not metabolize and eliminate toxic chemicals in the air they breathe and in the food and water they ingest the same way an adult does. Children with existing medical conditions are also more vulnerable to being affected adversely. (And every parent knows how hard it can be to get kids to wash their hands before they put fingers or food in their mouths!) And kids have a longer shelf-life than adults. Some diseases, including cancer, occur years to decades after exposure.
    7. “The dose makes the poison” made sense to Paracelsus 500 years ago, but should have little meaning to a pediatrician who has treated a child for lead poisoning, for example. There is no safe level of lead exposure in children, and the same may be true of other man made chemicals in the environment — at least as far as children, with their rapid rate of growth and development, are concerned.
    For these reasons (and for the additional fact that plastic and other petrochemicals are accelerating the global climate crisis), parents should be alarmed. They should heed your excellent advice to limit exposure to these products, try to find other materials to use instead of plastic and try to limit their use of single-use plastic products. It would be good for everyone to be reminded of a very simple physical reality: Earth is a closed system; what happens here stays here. Children, more than anyone else, bear the biggest burden on their health and future well-being based on that reality.

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