According to a new study, people who have organic diets and store food in non-plastic containers can also be exposed to chemicals like Phthalates and BPA, Science Daily reports.
According to researchers, claims from water bottle companies touting to be BPA-free labels and personal care products declaring no phthalates among their ingredients may not be enough to keep people from being exposed to chemicals such as these. Also, people who have organic food and never cook, store or eat out of plastic containers may still be exposed.
"Current information we give families may not be enough to reduce exposures," said Dr. Sheela Sathyanarayana, lead author on the study and an environmental health pediatrician in the UW School of Public Health and at Seattle Children's Research Institute. She is a physician at Harborview Medical Center's Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, and a UW assistant professor of pediatrics.
Previously, studies have linked Phthalates and bisphenol A, better known as BPA to abnormalities in the male reproductive system. It has also been linked to depression, anxiety and hyperactivity in girls.
The study was conducted on 10 families and their chemical exposure was observed. At the beginning of the study, five of the families were educated on how to reduce phthalate and BPA exposures. They received handouts prepared by the national Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units, a network of experts on environmentally related health effects in children. The other five families received a five-day catered diet of fresh, local organic food. All the food items were neither stores, cooker, or prepared in any plastic containers.
Researches hoped that the exposure to phthalates and BPA would be far less in people who were having the catered diet. However, when they tested the participants' urinary concentrations of metabolites for phthalates and BPA, they were surprised to find that was not the case.
The urinary concentrations for phthalates were instead 100 times higher than those levels found in the majority of the general population.
"We were extremely surprised to see these results. We expected the concentrations to decrease significantly for the kids and parents in the catered diet group. Chemical contamination of foods can lead to concentrations higher than deemed safe by the US EPA," said Dr. Sheela Sathyanarayana. "It's difficult to control your exposure to these chemicals, even when you try. We have very little control over what's in our food, including contaminants. Families can focus on buying fresh fruits and vegetables, foods that are not canned and are low in fat, but it may take new federal regulations to reduce exposures to these chemicals."
