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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Environment
Tom Perkins

Recycled and reused food contact plastics are ‘vectors’ for toxins – study

Bunch of plastic wrapped orange and red bell peppers
The study comes amid a debate over how to reduce the amount of plastic waste filling up the globe. Photograph: DutchScenery/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Recycled and reused food contact plastics are “vectors for spreading chemicals of concern” because they accumulate and release hundreds of dangerous toxins like styrene, benzene, bisphenol, heavy metals, formaldehyde and phthalates, new research finds.

The study assessed hundreds of scientific publications on plastic and recycled plastic to provide a first-of-its-kind systematic review of food contact chemicals in food packaging, utensils, plates and other items and what is known about how the substances contaminate food.

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