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Some very common objects in your kitchen could prove dangerous to your health. These are these black utensils that many of us use to serve a dish or mix our meal, when it is cooking. They contain flame retardants, potentially carcinogenic.
To serve your broth or soup, do you use a black plastic ladle? Be wary, because according to American scientists, these kitchen utensils contain toxic chemicals at very high levels: flame retardants.
What is a flame retardant?
Flame retardants are chemicals added to everyday objects, such as vehicles, furniture, electronic devices, etc. to make them less flammable, and thus meet fire resistance standards.
In this study, the researchers looked at 203 different consumer products, analyzing for each of them the presence of two different flame retardants: brominated flame retardants and organophosphate flame retardants.
Banned compounds found in 70% of samples
Their work concluded that these flame retardants were present in 85% of the products tested, with the highest levels of toxic flame retardants in a sushi tray, a spatula and a beaded necklace intended for children.
More worrying, the authors report having detected in 70% of the samples tested, traces of a particular compound, normally prohibited because it is suspected of being carcinogenic and toxic for many human functions, such as reproduction. This is deca-BDE, found in the kitchen utensils tested. Its rate has been estimated by researchers to be 5 to 1,200 times higher than the European Union limit of 10 ppm.
“We know that some electronics companies use extremely dangerous flame retardants in their products and we thought it was fairly likely that some of this flame retardant plastic would be recycled and end up in household items like toys and utensils kitchen”said Megan Liu, co-author of the study and lead science and policy at Toxic-Free Future.
“And this is what we found: flame retardants linked to cancer and hormonal disruptions are found in the products we use to eat or prepare food, or that our children play with“.
Chemical compounds harmful to health
Additionally, these compounds used in kitchen utensils are likely to end up in our stomachs. And these exposures would be far from harmless.
Various studies have already suggested an association between exposure to brominated flame retardants and cryptorchidism, thyroid hormone disturbances or reproductive problems. An association with the appearance of certain cancers, particularly breast cancer, has also been suggested.
NO to diets, YES to WW!
Return to the traditional wooden spoon
Electronic manufacturers put these flame retardants in plastic products to prevent them from catching fire. But it can ultimately be more harmful to your health.
“Companies continue to use toxic flame retardants in plastic electronics, leading to unexpected and unnecessary toxic exposures.” says Megan Liu. “These carcinogenic chemicals should not be used in the first place, but with recycling, they enter our environment and homes in more ways than one. The high levels we found are worrying”.
If you don’t want to take any risks, you can, like the author of the study, get rid of your black plastic utensils and choose a plastic-free wooden or stainless steel spoon for cooking; and opt for reusable glass containers instead of saving and reusing your black plastic takeout containers.