Issue 41/2014 - Nine major U.S. organizations have joined forces to ask FDA to ban certain chemicals in food packaging

Recently, nine major organizations such as the Natural Resources Defense Organization and the Breast Cancer Fund jointly launched a petition to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban some chemicals
harmful to health in food packaging.
These chemicals include perchlorate and long-chain perfluorocarbons
.
Perchlorate is added to food packaging gaskets to reduce static electricity
in dry food packaging.
Long-chain perfluorocarbons prevent grease from leaching into paper and cardboard for food packaging, such as pizza boxes and sandwiches
.

The signatories of the nine major organizations said that these two types of chemicals can harm fetal development, the male reproductive system, the brain development of babies before and after birth, and can also cause cancer
.
The petitioners cite a 2008 FDA study
.
The study found perchlorate in 59 percent of more than 1,000 food samples, and exposure was higher
in children under six years of age.
(Xiaohua)