The dangers of forever chemicals were hidden in food packaging by chemical giants
According to company studies collected by the Guardian, chemical giants DuPont and Daikin knew about the risks of a PFAS compound commonly used in food packaging since 2010 but kept them hidden from the public and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The chemicals, known as 6:2 FTOH, have now been related to a number of severe health problems, and they are still used in greaseproof pizza boxes, carryout bags, fast-food wrappers, and paperboard packaging in the United States.
The firms originally assured the FDA that the compounds were safer and less likely to persist in humans than older forms of PFAS, known as "forever chemicals," and provided internal tests to back up the assertion. However, Daikin suppressed a 2009 report indicating toxicity to lab rats' livers and kidneys, and DuPont did not notify the FDA or the public in 2012 of recent internal evidence indicating that the chemical remains in animals' bodies for much longer than previously believed.
The FDA licensed the Daikin-developed 6:2 FTOH compound for use in food packaging in 2009, based in part on the company's research indicating that the chemical was non-toxic.
Ten years later, Marciel Maffini, an independent researcher who studies PFAS in food packaging, and Tom Neltner, chemicals policy director with the Environmental Defense Fund, have found out that Daikin had hidden from the FDA two reports that indicated experimental animal toxicity out of which one was performed before FDA approved the chemical. They discovered the deficiency by comparing research for the chemical on Daikin's website to those sent to the FDA and discovered that the data on health effects was never sent. The FDA held a 2018 meeting with Chemours, Daikin, and others in the industry as part of its safety assessment of the chemical, at which the agency ordered studies relating to 6:2 FTOH. DuPont's 2012 report and Daikin's 2007 study were not previously available to the FDA, according to communications.
On the other hand, the DuPont 6:2 FTOH experiments, which were sent to the FDA in 2008, looked at the effects of elevated amounts of exposure to the compound on two generations of lab rats. Kidney disease, liver injury, mammary gland complications, mottled teeth, and other problems were discovered in animals. However, at that time according to Maffini, DuPont and the FDA concluded that human sensitivity would be much lower and that the short chain PFAS would not accumulate in human bodies despite the lack of evidence.
The chemical 6:2 FTOH is now linked to kidney disease, liver damage, cancer, neurological damage, developmental disabilities, and autoimmune diseases, according to studies from industry, the FDA, and independent experts. Furthermore, researchers have discovered higher mortality rates in young animals and mothers exposed to these contaminants. The FDA and several big PFAS producers agreed in 2020 to cease using 6:2 FTOH compounds in food packaging willingly within five years. However, records reveal that the FDA first learned about DuPont's secret analysis in 2015, and public health activists argue that a 10-year period to reassess and ban the chemical is too long.
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