In short
- Researchers have warned against using ordinary plastic bags for food storage.
- A report shows that plastic products contain harmful chemicals.
- Experts fear health effects such as cancer and hormonal disorders.
- Regulations for plastics are not strict enough, expert believes.
Do you use regular shopping bags from the store to store food for long periods of time?
You should stop doing that, the researcher warns. A report from Norway shows that plastic products may contain many harmful substances.
Now the expert is sounding the alarm about Norwegians' plastic habits.
A flight attendant with a hair-raising expression
Harmful chemicals
When NTNU's researchers looked at the contents of ordinary plastic items, they found all around 16,000 different chemicals.
– We know that only a few of these substances are completely safe, says Lisbet Sørensen DinSide from the research institute SINTEF.
He is an environmental chemist and expert in environmental toxics analysis.
Sorensen worries that chemicals from plastics can lead to many serious consequences for humans and the environment, especially if they get into the food we eat.
Warning: Environmental chemist Lisbet Sørensen says the plastic around us in everyday life is full of toxins. Photo: Thor Nielsen / [email protected].
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Food poisoning
In Norway, EU rules for plastic packaging are followed. Plastic products made for food storage must follow strict rules and must not contain toxins that can transfer to food.
On the other hand, non-food packaging plastics are much less regulated.
– If you use carrier bags to store bread, fruit, meat or other food items, toxins can leach into the food, Sorensen says.
Because carrier bags are not used as food packaging.
The plastic expert believes that consumers have very little knowledge about it. He insists that even food packaging should only be used for the purpose for which plastic is made.
– An ice cream box is safe for its intended purpose, but if you reuse it and heat dinner leftovers in the microwave, there is a risk of toxins spreading to the food.
Harmful to health
But what are the consequences of ingesting chemicals from plastic?
A SINTEF researcher warns against several dire health consequences.
– Chemicals are unlikely to have a serious effect. The scary thing is that they can be harmful to health in the long run.
Experts say these substances can cause cancer and disrupt hormones. Additionally, they inhibit fertility, meaning they affect people's ability to have children.
lands in nature
Pollutants: According to expert, toxins leach into nature. Photo: Shutterstock/NTB.
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The UN estimates that there may be 199 million tons of plastic in the world's oceans, and according to the Nature Conservancy, 19,000 tons of microplastics end up in Norwegian nature every year.
– What many people don't know is that plastic pollution leaches many dangerous substances into nature, says Sorensen.
The big challenge, he says, is that chemicals can easily leach into nature. So even if the plastic is cleaned, it has already led to pollution.
The researcher believes that the regulations regarding chemicals in plastics are very poor.
– Precisely for food contact plastics in the EU, we have come a long way, but Sørensen believes that the regulations for other plastic products are not sufficient.
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