It is common knowledge that processed food is unhealthy for you and if eaten should be done so in moderation at the least. However, there are certain chemicals used within processed foods that are concerning and surprising and may make one wonder why they are even put in processed food. One of these chemicals, phthalates, is used in plastics to make them more durable, vinyl flooring, lubricating oils and even hair sprays. This may lead some to wonder, why are phthalates in processed food, how do phthalates affect our personal health? Do phthalates somehow contribute to developing certain types of diseases? This paper will dive deeper into these topics and show the usage of this chemical in processed foods and why any company would even think of using this chemical in a food product. Sources will be detailed and cited to help us get more of an accurate look at this chemical and its need for being used in processed foods. The sources will also help us determine if phthalates have adverse health effects on us and see how big of a threat to the population the chemical may be. This paper will also take a look into potential diseases that can be partially developed due to consuming food with phthalates in them.

The first article we will be looking into is “Recent Studies Raise Concerns About Phthalates in Foods”. The article details to us “Testing found that plastic gloves, often blamed for phthalate contamination, contained lower levels of the chemicals than the food items themselves. As a result, researchers concluded that processed foods must pick up phthalates through contact with multiple phthalate-containing surfaces along the supply chain. Recent studies by scientists with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have also found detectable levels of phthalates in fast food packaging and food processing materials, suggesting that conveyor belts and tubing are potential sources of phthalate contamination.” This shows to us that it is likely not even intended to be in the foods on purpose like companies putting additives in cigarettes to make the product more addictive, it likely is just due to contact with equipment used when creating and packaging these products.

Recent Studies Raise Concerns About Phthalates in Foods

Murray