I threw out my spatula to avoid ingesting 80% of the EPA limit of brominated flame retardants but it turns out it the worst it would do was contaminate my food with 8% of the EPA limit of brominated flame retardants. I've been played a fool!
Whoa that is important. So the study found exposure from contaminated kitchenware was 34,700 nanograms per day and quoted the EPA safe exposure limit (informed by studies on mice) at 42,000 nanograms per day for an average adult, BUT the actual safe exposure limit is 10x more or 420,000.
Jesus... I can understand how "normal" people might not want to solve PDEs or even basic calculus problems, but hell even my 10 year old can count zeroes
(I have a lot of black plastic utensils like the one in the picture and had been eyeing them warily as they hang on the wall...had not thrown any away yet)
I get the impact of the error but 420 micrograms/day of heavily halogenated, bioaccumulative chemicals is safe to consume? Half a milligram a day? I’d still rather toxic electronic materials weren’t mixed into food contact materials.
I was noting that the correction makes the takeaway of the study quite different, especially since all of the headlines a couple weeks ago seemed to be "throw away your black plastic kitchenware immediately, it is trying to kill you."
Agreed on that point - inflammatory language isn’t helpful, even when there isn’t an error that big. But I’d still avoid having hot, greasy foods in contact with these since that increases leaching of these chemicals into the food.
Just because there is a number attached to the EPA’s evaluation of safe exposure does not mean that it’s an accurate assessment nor that it’s actually safe, especially considering that the U.S. takes a risk based approach instead of a more conservative hazard based one.
There is really no safe level of exposure for flame retardants like this and they should not be present at any level in food contact materials. People should not use black plastic for cooking.
Honest question I've had the whole time during spatula gate: why do people use plastic cookware in the first place? Is because of nonstick cookware? Mine is mostly metal or wood. I have a few silicone spatulas (none black) but they're much less used.
The study found the presence of high levels of toxic flame retardants, linked to cancer and other health impacts, in black plastic food serviceware, hair accessories, kitchen utensils, and toys.
The flame retardants aren’t needed for any reason in these products.
Out of the products containing flame retardants, 16 out of 17 products contained multiple flame retardants ranging from 2 to 9 different flame retardants.
Deca-BDE has been banned by states, the U.S. EPA, and European Union because it is a persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemical.
The flame retardants detected are highly hazardous and associated with cancer, reproductive, and developmental harm.
Studies have demonstrated these flame retardants can migrate from electronics into indoor air and dust, from utensils into food, and from toys into saliva.
Products found in this study to contain hazardous flame retardants included items with high exposure potential, including food-contact items & toys. Products we eat off and that our children play with.
These banned chemicals have no purpose in these products.
These results show that when toxic additives are used in plastic, they can significantly contaminate products, made with recycled content, that do not require flame retardancy.
While the error is really stupid, it does not change the fact that these products are not ideal food contact materials. The article does not mention the concept of “mixture assessment factor”, which acknowledges that these types of chemicals interact in our bodies and that we are constantly exposed.
Just because there was an error in the study doesn’t change the fact that plastic is not inert and especially when using plastic at high heat or for foods with high acid or fat, there is more chance of migration.
Its like our Gov DeSantis said: “the water is 100% safe. Its the radioactive elements in the water that are risky. And its too early to talk about deterraforming!”
Comments
Note that the lead researcher still recommends getting rid of those black plastic utensils.
They're significantly less hazardous than the mistaken conclusion implies, but that doesn't mean they're safe, either.
The original paper contained an error in comparing the estimated exposure of one flame retardant to the US EPA reference dose.
This comparison was not a major point of the study and the findings, conclusions, and recommendations are unaffected by this correction.
The flame retardants aren’t needed for any reason in these products.
Deca-BDE has been banned by states, the U.S. EPA, and European Union because it is a persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemical.
Studies have demonstrated these flame retardants can migrate from electronics into indoor air and dust, from utensils into food, and from toys into saliva.
These banned chemicals have no purpose in these products.
https://toxicfreefuture.org/research/toxic-flame-retardants-in-recycled-plastics/fact-sheet/
Point for laziness.
Just because there was an error in the study doesn’t change the fact that plastic is not inert and especially when using plastic at high heat or for foods with high acid or fat, there is more chance of migration.