(TJV) A recent report indicates that numerous popular grocery products, including Cheerios, Coca-Cola, and Gerber cereals, contain potentially hazardous levels of plastic chemicals. Consumer Reports, a non-profit advocacy group, conducted tests on 85 food items from supermarkets and fast-food chains, revealing the presence of plastic chemicals, known as “plasticizers” or phthalates, in 84 of them.

Consumer Reports finds ‘widespread’ presence of plastics in food https://t.co/RkHTDTxkiX

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These harmful chemicals, which can lead to cancer, infertility, birth defects, obesity, and other significant health issues, primarily infiltrate the food through packaging materials. The advocacy group is urging federal authorities to prohibit the use of phthalates in food products.

Among the items with the highest levels of plastic chemicals were Yoplait’s Original Low Fat French Vanilla, Ben & Jerry’s vanilla ice cream, Wendy’s crispy chicken nuggets, Burger King’s Whopper, General Mills’ original Cheerios, Perdue ground chicken breast, and Del Monte sliced peaches.

Two chemicals found in plastics are “widespread” among supermarket staples and fast foods, researchers say. https://t.co/HbgHYGMwNY

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While none of the detected levels exceeded the US safety limits established by regulators, scientists caution that any amount of plastics in food can pose risks. The report also highlights that efforts to reduce plastic exposure in the past mainly focused on packaging, but it’s now evident that phthalates can enter food during processing through plastic tubing, conveyor belts, gloves, and even contaminated water and soil.

The contamination can also occur through lined metal cans and plastic wraps. Some packaged products showed lower levels of plastic contamination compared to their counterparts; for example, Pizza Hut Original Pan Pizza had half the amount of plastics as Domino’s Hand Tossed Cheese Pizza.

Beech-Nut Fruities Pouch Pear, Banana & Raspberries had half the plastic content of Gerber Mealtime for Baby Harvest Turkey Dinner. Polar Springs seltzer was found to be free of contaminants, suggesting that there are ways to reduce the presence of these chemicals in our food. Consumer Reports emphasizes the need for increased awareness and measures to mitigate the widespread inclusion of plastic chemicals in various food products.