Customers should be careful when purchasing black cookware as it could increase the risk of cancer.
One study found that 85 percent of spatulas, to-go tubs and other kitchen utensils made from recycled black plastic contain flame retardants that are linked to fertility problems, developmental delays and tumors.
These chemicals get into kitchen utensils, takeout containers, and toys when manufacturers recycle flame-retardant electronics, such as televisions or electrical housings.
Study author Megan Liu, science and policy director at campaign group Toxic-Free Future, said: “These cancer-causing chemicals shouldn’t be used to begin with, but with recycling, they are entering our environment and our homes in more ways than one.” The high levels we found are worrying.’
Ms Liu shopping for recycled plastic utensils at a US retail store. The study did not reveal which brands were tested or where they were purchased.
Black plastic utensils, takeout containers and toys were found to contain levels of flame retardants, which researchers say increases the risk of cancer.
Since the 1970s, flame retardants have been added to consumer products such as sofa cushions, telephones, and building materials.
They do not break down easily in the environment.
They are so common that people have found these chemicals in their blood, breast milk, and urine of many Americans.
In the decades since, research among people frequently exposed to these chemicals, such as factory workers and firefighters, has increasingly linked them to health problems, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
Researchers of Toxic-free future and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam decided to see if these chemicals were in products that millions of Americans use every day.
They purchased black plastic items from US-based retailers.
They did not reveal which stores they purchased the products from or what brands the products were from.
Some of the 20 products analyzed included sushi trays, spatulas and rhinestone necklaces. They did not test other colors of plastic items.
After taking them to the lab, they found that 85 percent of the products contained flame retardants or their byproducts.
The study suggests that the problem has to do with the products that manufacturers decide to recycle.
These cookware are of particular concern because people can absorb the flame retardant chemicals by eating them, the authors suggest.
Flame retardants and their derivatives are especially harmful to children because their organs are still developing and because they are more likely to be exposed to them in large quantities by putting plastic objects in their mouths. according to the NIH.
‘The health of women and children must take priority over the profits of the chemical industry. We need less poisonous plastic, more chemicals and safer materials and end the secrecy of plastic ingredients,” said Ms Liu.
Still, being exposed to these chemicals once is probably not harmful to your health. Instead, it is likely that high and repeated levels of exposure are what lead people to develop the associated problems.
Research is being done on how these harm the body. They are likely to accumulate in the body over time, the researchers said.
Takeout containers made from recycled plastic were also found to contain flame retardant byproducts. When heated and eaten, these chemicals can leach into the human body and build up over time.
Once in the body, these chemicals act as endocrine disruptors and interfere with the body’s hormonal system. This harms reproductive health, fertility and development, and could lead to mutations that can become cancerous.
Regardless of how they work, a growing body of research continues to show that the chemicals are linked to a range of health problems.
A study from April 2024 A study that tracked more than 1,000 Americans over two decades found that people with high levels of flame retardants in their blood had a 300 percent higher risk of dying from cancer than people with low levels of flame retardants in their blood. .
Thyroid and breast cancers, which are known to be linked to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, were particularly common.
Similarly, research Harvard School of Public Health found that 80 percent of women undergoing IVF treatment to get pregnant had levels of flame retardants in their urine.
Those with the highest levels of chemicals in their bodies had a harder time getting pregnant, staying pregnant, and giving birth to a live child than people with lower levels of chemicals in their bodies.
With this evidence in mind, and knowing how harmful these chemicals are to children in particular, Mike Schade, A toxic-free future The director of Mind the Store said companies that make utensils from recycled plastic must do better.
Mr Schade said: “Large retailers must ensure that the products they sell, from children’s toys to kitchen spatulas, do not introduce banned cancer-causing chemicals into our homes.”