Chemicals that Come into Contact with Food — Not Just Ingredients — May Harm Our Health

We consume far too many chemicals in ultra-processed food than is good for our health, according to a review article in Nature Medicine. We are unaware of many of these chemicals because they can get into food not just as ingredients, but through packaging, processing, and transporting it.

The data the authors reviewed estimated that about 58 percent of all food consumed in the U.S. is ultra-processed.

“That’s a lot of unhealthy food,” says Jane Muncke, a scientist with the Food Packaging Forum Foundation in Zurich and an author of the paper.

This problem persists for many reasons. Chemicals help make food cheaper to manufacture and easier to store and transport. Governments have few regulations on synthetic chemicals used in food. And advertising can influence someone to purchase a packaged product than, say, an apple or a carrot.

The paper includes lots of sobering statistics about the chemicals in our food and how they get there. But it also suggests some strategies to minimize our impact from them.

There are 12,000 “food contact chemicals” (FCC) that aren’t ingredients in processed foods, but that touch them at some point between manufacture and consumption. Of those, at least 2,160 different FCCs have been shown to either leech out or gas into foods, according to more than 1,000 peer-reviewed studies.

Many of those chemicals have been linked to adverse health effects. But chemicals that come into processed food, rather than included as ingredients, aren’t necessarily well studied or included on labels.

“There are too many synthetic, hazardous chemicals in food that are not regulated,” Muncke says.

Read More: What are Ultra Processed Foods?

The authors suggest that more consumer awareness of both the extent and risk of synthetic chemicals could help turn the tide.

“Eat a less processed, more simple diet and keep the ultra-processed foods for special occasions where you consume them consciously,” Muncke says.

There has been some precedents — and reasons for hope. For instance, people are now far more aware of microplastics.

“Once they understand FCCs are very much also plastic components, to a large extent, I think understanding will grow,” says Muncke . "And the science on how some FCCs negatively impact health is reliable, so it makes a lot of sense to reduce one’s exposure to them.”

Also, past regulations have reduced the impact of some harmful chemicals in food. For instance, produce now has less exposure to pesticides. And BPA — a compound used in many plastics, such as water bottles, was found to be harmful in the ‘90s. Several countries — including EU members and the U.K. — subsequently banned it at certain levels. However, existing tests aren’t sensitive enough to detect lower amounts that could sneak into food and potentially cause health problems.

Read More: How Ultra-Processed Foods Can Affect Your Mental Health

The authors call for more research into how FCCs can harm health. Such studies could eventually lead to more regulations on their use in the chain that leads the food from manufacturer to consumer — but that will likely be a long, slow process. Until consumers insist on more scrutiny about what gets into their processed food, they might consider being more vigilant about what they consume.

“You are what you eat,” Muncke says.

This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.

Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:

• Nature Medicine. Health impacts of exposure to synthetic chemicals in food

Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.