Chemicals linked to breast cancer leach into our foods, study finds

Photo: Woman pointing to area on mammogram x-ray, close-up

CNN — Nearly 200 chemicals connected to breast cancer are used in the making of food packaging and plastic tableware, and dozens of those carcinogens can migrate into the human body, a new study found.

“There is strong evidence that 76 known or potential breast carcinogens from food contact materials recently purchased all over the world can be found in people,” said study coauthor Jane Muncke, managing director and chief scientific officer at the Food Packaging Forum, a nonprofit foundation based in Zurich, Switzerland, that focuses on science communication and research.

“Getting rid of these known or suspected carcinogens in our food supply is a huge opportunity for cancer prevention,” Muncke said.

Of the recently detected chemicals in food packaging, 40 are already classified as hazardous by regulatory agencies around the world, according to the study.

“So many of these chemicals have already been classified as human health hazards, yet they are still allowed to be used in food contact materials, thus allowing them to migrate into the food we eat,” said Jenny Kay, a research scientist at Silent Spring Institute, a scientific research organization focused on the link between chemicals, women’s health and breast cancer. She was not involved in the study.

Rates of early-onset breast cancer in women under 50 are increasing, and experts said the trend cannot be explained by genetics alone.

“Getting rid of these known or suspected carcinogens in our food supply is a huge opportunity for cancer prevention.”

—Jane Muncke, study co-author

“Rates of colon cancer are also rising in younger people,” said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, former deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society who was not involved in the study.

“Is it obesity? Is it alcohol? Is it the lack of physical activity? Is it environmental? There are a lot of reasons,” Lichtenfeld said, “and it’s going to take a long time to sort which has the most impact, as some of these chemicals may be high risk, some low risk.”

The Consumer Brands Association, which represents the consumer products industry, told CNN that its members adhere to the US Food and Drug Administration’s evidence-based safety standards.

“Packaging exists to protect and keep food safe for consumption,” said Sarah Gallo, the association’s senior vice president of product policy and federal affairs, in an email.

“The FDA reviews and approves food contact substances through their science and risk-based system before they go to market,” Gallo said. “The agency’s post market review also provides continuous safety analysis and regulation of the approved substances.”

The FDA has been under fire for its failure to act quickly on health concerns about some 14,000 chemicals known to be added to food. The agency will hold a public meeting Wednesday to present its ideas on how to improve its post-market food analyses.

Possible breast carcinogens

In 2007, Silent Spring published a list of 216 chemicals that can cause mammary tumors in rodents — a key method for determining toxicity, according to experts.

A January 2024 update to that list found 921 possibly carcinogenic chemicals, including 642 that may stimulate estrogen or progesterone production, another known risk factor for breast cancer.

“The fact that so many potential breast carcinogens are present in food packaging and can migrate into our food is just one example of how many chemicals we are unwittingly exposed to every day,” said Kay, who coauthored the 2024 study update published in Environmental Health Perspectives.

“Many of the mammary carcinogens are hormone disruptors, too, and many of the chemicals on our list can also damage DNA,” she said. “Consumers should not have to […]

Full article: www.cnn.com