A hormone-warping chemical used to make rocket fuel is widespread in food sold in the US, an investigation has found.
The watchdog Consumer Reports found perchlorate was in dozens of fresh fruits, fast food, including burgers and fries, and kid food like mac and cheese.
Perchlorate is used in rocket fuel, missiles, explosives, airbags, and certain types of plastic. The substance leeches into food and water when it is accidentally released or improperly disposed of at industrial sites where these products are made.
When crops are irrigated with contaminated water, produce becomes tainted with it.
baby/kid food, fast food, and fresh fruits and vegetables had the highest levels of the compound perchlorate
None of the foods had a perchlorate concentration in a single serving that would be problematic.
But most Americans eat more than a suggested serving, putting themselves at risk of compounded exposure to the contaminant.
And children, with their lower body weight, could be at particularly high risk.
Perchlorate is known to affect people’s hormone levels and wreak havoc on the thyroid.
It has been shown to disrupt the body’s ability to absorb iodine, which is essential for hormone production. This can lead to chronic metabolic disorders like diabetes.
And in pregnant people, perchlorate exposure can contribute to neurological conditions in their babies.
Because the environment is usually too cool to trigger its ability to break down, perchlorate ions can remain unchanged in the air, soil, and water for many decades.
The researchers looked at 196 samples of 63 supermarket products and 10 fast food items, which were chosen because previous scientific research has suggested that these foods may contain perchlorate.
Baby and kid foods, like mac and cheese, baby cereal, and yogurt all tested positive for perchlorate
Baby food had the highest concentration of perchlorate, with foods averaging 19.4 parts per billion.
Researchers at Consumer Reports said that the amount of perchlorate in a single serving of boxed macaroni and cheese – a classic kid food – would hit nearly 50 percent of the European Food Safety Authority’s max safety limit of 0.3 micrograms per kilogram of body weight.
Servings of baby rice cereal, baby multigrain cereal, and organic yogurt would each hit about a quarter of that limit.
‘That means with one serving of each of the above foods—very possible over the course of a single day—a child would exceed the EFSA’s safe daily limit.’
They added that the amount of perchlorate in a single serving of some fruits or vegetables like cucumbers and baby carrots would make up 50 percent of the European max safety limit.
Fruits and vegetables had a perchlorate concentration of 9.3 ppb, while fast food had a concentration of 7.7 ppb.
Even healthy foods are not safe from contamination, the authors wrote.
When testing foods and packaging, the scientists measured the amounts in parts per billion (PPB).
Foods in plastic containers had the highest levels of perchlorate, 54 ppb, followed by foods in plastic wrap and paperboard.
While the EFSA’s daily maximum recommended limit is 0.3 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day, the EPA has a considerably higher threshold limit at 0.7 micrograms per kg of body weight.
The US Environmental Protection Agency has a maximum safety threshold that is higher than the one in Europe.
Tunde Akinleye, the CR chemist who oversaw the perchlorate testing, says many food safety experts think this level is not adequately protective and should be significantly lower.
A serving of kid foods like boxed macaroni and cheese would hit nearly 50 percent of the European regulatory limit
Perchlorate is one of thousands of chemicals permitted in foods lining grocery store shelves right now.
When manufacturing sites that build missiles and rockets use perchlorate to power their inventions, the dregs of that fuel seep into the groundwater, which can contaminate the water we drink and the water farmers use for their crops.
The Environmental Working Group tested lettuce for perchlorate in 2003 to gauge the extent of contamination. The farm the lettuce came from was situated down river from Lake Mead, where two perchlorate-manufacturing facilities operated until the 1990s.
They found perchlorate in 20 percent of lettuce samples from grocery stores.
The compound is also used in plastics development to reduce static charges. Baby food containers, for instance, often contain perchlorate, which then contaminates the food they encase.
It can also seep into food that comes in contact with bleach, which is used as a disinfectant in food processing and to peel and wash produce.
The likelihood that perchlorate will cause harm to one’s thyroid depends on their baseline iodine levels. Iodine is a mineral crucial for making hormones, the thyroid gland’s main job.
But far too few pregnant women get enough of it, putting them at higher risk for negative downstream effects of exposure to perchlorate, which include abnormal fetal brain development, lower IQ, and poor maternal health, such as weight gain, fatigue, and depression.
More people are iodine deficient now than they were half a century ago. Almost 25 percent of pregnant women in the US don’t get enough of it.
The EPA has pledged to change the maximum safety limits of perchlorate for years but has yet to carry out that pledge, which California (6 ppb) and Massachusetts (2 ppb) have already fulfilled.
The CR researchers concluded: ‘When the EPA does propose limits, which the agency has said it will do by 2025, setting strict limits like this could drive cleanup activities in contaminated areas.’
