This is exactly why you need to eat real fresh food, from the farm or garden to your plate.
Phthalates are potentially harmful chemicals. Three phthalates (DEHP, DBP, and BBP) were banned from children’s products in 2008. The most recent 2015 phthalate regulations call for banning additional phthalates (DINP, DIBP, DnPP, DnHP and DCHP).
In 2014 a report to the Consumer Product Safety Commission concluded that food—not plastic children’s products—is the primary exposure to plastics.
Now a new study has found phthalates in all but one of 30 packaged mac and cheese mixes made with powdered cheese.
Most relevant compounds within the sample set were DEP, DiBP**, DnBP, and DEHP*, with a prevalence ranging from 63 to 92 %. DAP and DCHP were never found above the LOQ, and DMP only in 2 samples. Prevalence of DnHP, BBP*, DNOP, DiDP/DPHP and DiNP** ranged between 12 and 22 %.
* banned from children’s products in 2008
** recommended for ban in 2015
The major findings are:
- Phthalates were detected in nearly every cheese product tested (29 of 30 varieties). The testing identified ten different phthalates in all, with up to six in a single product;
- Average phthalate levels were more than four times higher in macaroni and cheese powder samples than in hard blocks & other natural cheese, in fat of products tested;
- DEHP, the most widely restricted phthalate, was found more often and at a much higher average concentration than any other phthalate, among all the cheese products tested.
To me, this clearly shows that processing adds toxic chemicals to foods. And the more highly processes foods contain more toxic chemicals.
This applies to organic foods too. They didn’t give the brands tested, but it doesn’t matter if you buy organic mac and cheese with powdered cheese in a box. It’s the processing of the cheese that adds the phthalates.
NEW YORK TIMES: The Chemicals in Your Mac and Cheese
KLEAN UP KRAFT: Testing Finds Industrial Chemical Phthalates in Cheese
