Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention Releases Findings of Study on Migration of Chemical Substances from Plastic Food Packaging

Recently, Sun Hong, chief physician at the Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in collaboration with Professor Su Guanyong, Professor Li Jianhua and others of Nanjing University of Science and Technology, published an important study in the Journal of Hazardous Materials. The study reveals that more than 2100 chemical features associated with plastic packaging may enter the human body through food. Through non-targeted analysis methods, 17 chemical substances detected at high frequency in human serum were confirmed. These chemical substances come from a wide range of sources and may pose a potential threat to human health. The Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention calls for further strengthening the regulation of plastic chemical substances to safeguard public health. Research background With the increase in global production of plastic products, plastic food packaging is widely used in daily life. However, chemical substances in plastic packaging may migrate into the human body through food, thereby bringing health risks. By establishing a database of 2101 chemical features, the study analyzed the distribution of these chemical substances in food and human serum. The results show that about 78% of the chemical features can be detected in food or serum samples, among which 625 chemical feature structures showed migration in a simulated food environment. Research findings A database containing 2101 chemical substances related to plastic food packaging was established, of which 625 chemical substances were proven capable of migrating through food. Among the chemical substances detected in human serum, 17 were confirmed as functional additives, including antioxidants, plasticizers and lubricants.

The widespread presence of these chemical substances suggests that plastic chemical substances may pose a potential threat to public health. Half of these detected chemicals have rarely or never been reported as detected in food. This study was supported by the Jiangsu Provincial Social Development Key R&D Program and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention will continue to pay attention to the chemical safety of food contact materials, promote the improvement of relevant standards, and safeguard consumers' health and safety. Health recommendations Plastic food packaging brings not only threats to household health and food safety; by releasing harmful substances, it also causes global environmental pollution. To reduce the impact of plastic chemical substances on health, it is recommended that the public minimize reliance on plastic-packaged food in daily life, and especially avoid using plastic containers when heating food. Paper link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304389424024762?dgcid=coauthor Please indicate the source when reprinting