Food wrapper chemicals may leach into food

TORONTO, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Chemicals applied to fast-food wrappers and microwave popcorn bags are migrating into the food and being ingested by consumers, researchers in Canada say.

Perfluorinated carboxylic acids are the breakdown products of chemicals used to make non-stick and water- and stain-repellent products ranging from kitchen pans to clothing to food packaging. PFCAs, the best known of which is perfluorooctanoic acid, are found in humans all around the world, University of Toronto scientists say.

Jessica D'eon, a graduate student at the University of Toronto, says the study exposed rats to polyfluoroalkyl phosphate esters either orally or by injection and the rats were monitored for a three-week period to track the concentrations of the polyfluoroalkyl phosphate esters and PFCA metabolites, including PFOA, in their blood.

The researchers used the polyfluoroalkyl phosphate ester concentrations previously observed in human blood together with the polyfluoroalkyl phosphate esters and PFCA concentrations observed in the rats to calculate human PFOA exposure from polyfluoroalkyl phosphate esters metabolism.

"We found the concentrations of PFOA from polyfluoroalkyl phosphate ester metabolism to be significant and concluded that the metabolism of polyfluoroalkyl phosphate esters could be a major source of human exposure to PFOA, as well as other PFCAs," lead researcher Scott Mabury, a professor at the University of Toronto, says.

The findings are published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.