Value of Fresh Foods
Posted 4/1/2011
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This is a notice from Silent Spring about an article that just came out in Environmental Health Perspectives regarding the negative impact of packaging materials on food intake. That is, it is much better for you to eat fresh green beans than canned, frozen or even pre-bagged ones. Scoop them out yourself and wash them carefully at home. Go to farmers' markets whenever possible--and those markets can be one of life's real pleasures during the growing season. We belong to a CSA from May-November and love those weekly crates (and my daughter, in Minnesota, belongs to a CSA that somehow manages weekly deliveries all year long).
The link to the research article is embedded in this:
Silent Spring Institute and our partners at Breast Cancer Fund just released a new study that is the first to show food packaging is the major source of people's exposure to the hormone disruptors BPA and DEHP, and a fresh food diet reduces levels in adults and children by half, after just three days. The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectiveson March 30.
The good news is that this study provides clear evidence that can guide solutions. The findings show that replacing these chemicals with safer alternatives would significantly reduce exposures for most people. Our results will inform manufacturers and green chemists who are trying to develop safer products, advocates who are calling for smarter chemicals policies, and individuals who want to take steps now to reduce their exposures.
Silent Spring Institute first began studying BPA and DEHP as part of the Household Exposure Study and the Drinking Water Study because they are hormone disruptors—chemicals that may affect breast and other hormonal cancers, reproduction, and development. DEHP and two other phthalates measured in this study were recently banned under Europe's REACH regulation because of concerns about reproductive toxicity.
You may have noticed that our study has attracted high-profile media attention, including coverage in USA Today, ABC News, and Channel 5 Boston. You can find these stories and more on our website:www.silentspring.org/foodpackagingstudy. The study has also created quite a buzz in the on-line community.
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