A common preservative may hamper immune functions, along with other chemicals, warns the Environmental Working Group (EWG).
Using the Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxicity Forecaster, or ToxCast, the EWG assessed the potential human health impact of a number of chemicals including those commonly added to food and those that can be transferred to food from packaging.
Particularly concerning in the pandemic era, EWG’s analysis found that the preservative tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), has been found to harm the immune system both in both animal tests and in high-throughput in vitro toxicology testing.
“The pandemic has focused public and scientific attention on environmental factors that can impact the immune system,” said study lead author Olga Naidenko, PhD, and EWG Vice President for Science Investigations.”Before the pandemic, chemicals that may harm the immune system’s defense against infection or cancer did not receive sufficient attention from public health agencies. To protect public health, this must change.”
Using new non-animal test results from ToxCast, TBHQ was found to affect immune cell proteins at doses considered to cause harm. Previous studies have also found that TBHQ could influence flu vaccine effectiveness and may be associated with a rise in food allergies.
In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration often entrusts food companies to ensure that chemicals added to the foods they produce are safe. Additives such as TBHQ were approved decades ago, and the FDA does not consider new science.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are used in food packaging, were found to be in many types of food packaging, and can migrate to food. Human epidemiological studies have found that PFAS is linked to reduced immune function and vaccine effectiveness. Recent research also links bloodstream PFAS levels to COVID severity.
“Food manufacturers have no incentive to change their formulas,” explained Scott Faber, senior vice president for government affairs at EWG. “Too often, the FDA allows the food and chemical industry to determine which ingredients are safe for consumption. Our research shows how important it is that the FDA take a second look at these ingredients and test all food chemicals for safety.”
The EWG is calling on the FDA to close the food additive loophole, and to conduct immunotoxicity testing of chemicals in food and food packaging.
Source: News-Medical.Net
Journal information: Naidenko, O. V., et al. (2021) Investigating Molecular Mechanisms of Immunotoxicity and the Utility of ToxCast for Immunotoxicity Screening of Chemicals Added to Food. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18073332.
