How safe are your home delivery foods? Experts flag serious health risks

 The widespread use of phthalate chemicals poses a severe risk to healthThe Week News Desk 

The Week : How safe are those containers you use to store foods? In an era of fast food delivery apps and ready-to-eat food products, experts have warned of hot/warm meals packed in plastic containers. Emphasising this, a new study has revealed that daily exposure to certain chemicals used in plastic items like food containers or medical equipment could be the reason for the spike in deaths due to heart disease worldwide. 

The study by researchers at New York University Langone Health was published in Lancet eBiomedicine. 

The main culprit causing the alarm is phthalates. These chemicals are in widespread use and are found in a wide range of products including cosmetics, solvents, detergents and even plastic containers. 

Di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), which is used to make food containers, medical equipment, and other plastic softer is in focus in the new study. 

DEHP exposure contributed to 3,56,238 deaths and over 13 per cent of all global mortality from heart disease in 2018 among men and women aged 55-64. 

The Middle East, South Asia and the Pacific impacted more from the DEHP exposure. Research has revealed that these countries face higher rates of exposure to the chemicals.  

What are phthalates? 

Phthalates are a group of chemicals used as plasticisers, making plastics more flexible, durable and soft. These chemicals with endocrine-disrupting properties cause health issues including increased risk of cancer, allergies, and infertility and could adversely affect child development as well.