Plastic Food Packaging from Five Countries Contains Endocrine- and Metabolism-Disrupting Chemicals

• Published in: Environmental science & technology 2024-03, Vol.58 (11), p.4859-4871
• Main Authors: Stevens, Sarah, McPartland, Molly, Bartosova, Zdenka, Skåland, Hanna Sofie, Völker, Johannes, Wagner, Martin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Androgen receptors; Chemical fingerprinting; Chemicals; Complexity; Disruption; Ecotoxicology and Public Health; Endocrine Disruptors - chemistry; Endocrine Disruptors - pharmacology; Estrogen receptors; Estrogens; Food Packaging; Health risks; Least squares method; Mass spectrometry; Mass spectroscopy; Metabolism; Mixtures; Nuclear receptors; Phthalate esters; Plastics; Polymers; Pregnane X receptors; Receptors; Toxicity
• ISSN: 0013-936X; 1520-5851
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c08250

Plastics are complex chemical mixtures of polymers and various intentionally and nonintentionally added substances. Despite the well-established links between certain plastic chemicals (bisphenols and phthalates) and adverse health effects, the composition and toxicity of real-world mixtures of plastic chemicals are not well understood. To assess both, we analyzed the chemicals from 36 plastic food contact articles from five countries using nontarget high-resolution mass spectrometry and reporter-gene assays for four nuclear receptors that represent key components of the endocrine and metabolic system. We found that chemicals activating the pregnane X receptor (PXR), peroxisome proliferator receptor γ (PPARγ), estrogen receptor α (ERα), and inhibiting the androgen receptor (AR) are prevalent in plastic packaging. We detected up to 9936 chemical features in a single product and found that each product had a rather unique chemical fingerprint. To tackle this chemical complexity, we used stepwise partial least-squares regressions and prioritized and tentatively identified the chemical features associated with receptor activity. Our findings demonstrate that most plastic food packaging contains endocrine- and metabolism-disrupting chemicals. Since samples with fewer chemical features induce less toxicity, chemical simplification is key to producing safer plastic packaging.