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Ultra-processed foods and plastic packaging make for the ultimate toxic pair, scientists say

A recent paper published in Globalization and Health explores the relationship between ultra-processed foods (UPFs), plastic packaging, and their combined threat to public health

PenInfo Desk: The world is the symbiotic rise of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and plastics. Together, this co-dependent duo generates substantial profits for agri-food and petrochemical industries at high costs for people and planet. Cheap, lightweight and highly functional, plastics have ideal properties that enable business models to create demand for low-cost, mass-produced and hyper-palatable UPFs among populations worldwide, hungry, or not.

Evidence linking UPF consumption to deterioration in diet quality and higher risk of chronic diseases is well-established and growing rapidly. At the same time, the issue of plastic food contact chemicals (FCCs) is receiving increasing attention among the human health community, as is the generation and dispersion of micro- and nano plastics.

Researcher explore how the lifecycles and shared economic benefits of UPFs and plastics interact to co-produce a range of direct and indirect harms. The researchers caution that the chemical dimension of these harms is underappreciated, with thousands of plastic FCCs known to migrate into foodstuffs. Some of these are hazardous and have been detected in humans and the broader environment, while many are yet to be adequately tested.

In this report, the researchers address whether policies on both UPF and plastic chemicals are fit for purpose when production and consumption of these products is adding to the chronic chemical exposures that plausibly contribute to the increasing global burden of non-communicable diseases.

Researcher said that, there is no simple way out of the toxic relationship between plastics and UPFs, but momentum is mounting among groups – including shareholders – seeking accountability from health-harming industries. Few challenges offer such significant potential to deliver cross-cutting benefits for people and planet.

Peninfo/desk/29.10.24/01.15am

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