Try This – Surprising Findings from a Major Report On Microplastics

After some recent investigation into my own health and the amount of microplastics I’ve been exposed to (more on this in the future), I’ve gone deep down the rabbit hole of plastics, their impact, and what we can do about it.

Luckily, I’m not the only one obsessed with this topic right now.

Recently, a small team, sparked by a tweet and their own curiosity, embarked on a six-month journey, testing nearly 300 common food items for 18 different plastic-related chemicals. 

And the results were shocking. 

Look, I’m not trying to scare anyone, but I do think that in the next 10 years we’re going to look back and regret the amount of plastics we’ve allowed into our lives for so many reasons, including their impact on fertility and reproductive health, our brains, our children’s brains, and virtually every organ in our bodies. 

So today I’m sharing the key findings from the report on these 300 foods and some thoughts on what we can do to protect ourselves and hopefully create a path forward to protect ourselves and future generations. 

Let’s get into it.

Imagine eating your favorite foods. Now imagine that many of them contained way more plastic-related chemicals than what is deemed safe by groups like the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) or even the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

That’s exactly what happened when Nat Friedman (an investor and entrepreneur) and his team at PlasticList tested 300 commonly eaten foods amongst themselves and their community. 

They spent six months and $500,000 testing these foods for different types of chemicals in plastics, including phthalates and bisphenols, which are commonly used in plastics to make them more flexible and softer or durable and harder. These chemicals have also come under fire for their potential to harm our health. 

These chemicals, known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), can migrate from packaging into our food, and some studies suggest they might interfere with our hormones, especially in developing children.

You can read more on the dangers of chemicals added to plastics here. 

Unfortunately, the PlasticList team found that a whopping 86 percent of the foods they tested contained at least one of these harmful chemicals.

The sad truth is that everything from baby food to protein bars to organic produce showed some level of contamination. Even seemingly healthy choices, like raw milk from a local farm, contained plastic chemicals. 

Randomly, of the 300 tested, boba tea was especially concerning—the sample they tested contained “1.2 [years’ worth] of safe consumption, according to the EFSA.” 

That’s insane!

Other top offenders included: 

• Stabucks Matcha Latte

• Whole Foods Boneless Beef Ribeye Steak Grass Fed (tested much higher than even a McDonald's Quarter Pounder with Cheese)

• RxBars

• Annie’s organic mac and cheese

• Subway Sub Tuna Sandwich

• Wild Planet Albacore Wild Tuna

You can find more about the foods they tested and the chemicals they contained here. 

There were some other interesting findings from this study that need deeper investigation but are definitely worth considering: 

1. Food that spent 45 minutes in take-out containers had 34 percent higher levels of concerning chemicals than the dishes in the restaurant. We should definitely limit the amount of time our food spends in take-out containers and drastically reduce the amount of takeout we get! 

2. I’m super confused about this one, but heating food in the microwave seems to reduce plasticizers! Now this one is pretty controversial since the jury is really out on what microwaving food actually does to it, but I thought it was fascinating to look into this a little further. I’m not planning on microwaving my food anytime soon but the fact that this was mentioned deserves further attention.

3. The results showed that most baby foods and prenatal vitamins tested contained phthalates. This is especially concerning considering how harmful plasticizers can be to the development of a fetus and growing child. 

4. Bisphenol S (BPS), a poor replacement for BPA, is astronomically high in receipts. The levels in receipts tested were “546,785,000% of the EFSA daily limit for BPA and 2,191% of the EPA limit.” I always recommend avoiding receipts if possible. Ask for digital copies instead. 

5. Even so-called health foods (salmon, grass-fed beef) contained plasticizers, which means we need to demand more transparency from companies on their practices. I was surprised to read that plastic-wrapped silage (feed made for livestock) gets really hot and chemicals are absorbed into the food that cattle eat. Also, some farmers don’t even take the plastic off the feed before giving it to the animals and they end up eating the plastic. Yuck!

So what does this all mean? And what can we do about it?

The study found that less-processed foods, like fresh produce, generally contained fewer chemicals than heavily processed items. This one seems like a no-brainer, but the fewer ultra-processed foods you eat, the better. 

I also think this is a great opportunity for us to demand testing from our favorite food companies. The more we ask them to test for plastics—just like companies test for heavy metals and bacterial contamination—the more likely they are to do it. 

I’ve already started to email companies I regularly purchase from and ask them if they test for microplastics, and if not, I’ve encouraged them to start. I’m serious: email your suppliers and companies and demand testing, especially if you have children in your home. 

It’s amazing what a small group of individuals can do to create sustainable and lasting change. That’s why I love what Nat Friedman and his team did, and I think now it’s up to the rest of us to take this information and demand change. 

Want to dive into the full details of the PlasticList investigation? Check out the complete report here. It's a fascinating read and will give you a whole new perspective on the food we eat every day.

I’m going to follow this subject very closely, and I’ll be sure to keep my community posted. 

Here’s to more transparency in the name of better health, 

Dhru Purohit