5 ms·

Note that they seem to only appear in processed food. That's kind of OK of you cook yourself apparently.

by bestouff 3y ago

post_break 3y ago
Unless you eat anything pork. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPbF45-ZB5M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPbF45-ZB5M
- Maximus9000 3y ago
  Cows too are fed candy (with wrapper) https://www.motherjones.com/food/2013/12/cow-feed-chicken-poop-candy-sawdust/ https://www.motherjones.com/food/2013/12/cow-feed-chicken-po...
- drtgh 3y ago
  That video of pigs being fed plastic it is in a facility in North Carolina, USA, run by Smithfield Foods, a Chinese-owned entity, the largest pork producer in the United States. I have searched for to know what happened with that facility, but the only article that I've been able to find, and that it is showed as first result in the search engine, is from fayobserver[1], labeled as USA Today Network, saying a "do not worry". Legal or not, it's an outrage. Did the FDA allowed this in the end? From their web[2] << Headquartered in Smithfield, Virginia, Smithfield Foods is an American food company dedicated to producing Good food. Responsibly.® >> [1] https://fayobserver.com/story/news/2022/05/05/nc-pig-feed-plastics-claim-went-tiktok-viral-does-public-have-worry/6984395001/ https://fayobserver.com/story/news/2022/05/05/nc-pig-feed-pl... [2] www smithfieldfoods com
ceejayoz 3y ago
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230103-how-plastic-is-getting-into-our-food https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230103-how-plastic-is-g... > Plastic particles can also contaminate food crops directly. A 2020 study found microplastics and nanoplastics in fruit and vegetables sold by supermarkets and in produce sold by local sellers in Catania in Sicily, Italy. Apples were the most contaminated fruit, and carrots had the highest levels of microplastics among the sampled vegetables. > According to research by Willie Peijnenburg, professor of environmental toxicology and biodiversity at Leiden University in the Netherlands, crops absorb nanoplastic particles – minuscule fragments measuring between 1-100nm in size, or about 1,000 to 100 times smaller than a human blood cell – from surrounding water and soil through tiny cracks in their roots.
- arsome 3y ago
  Isn't there also limited to no evidence of harms from these in humans?
  - ceejayoz 3y ago
    I mean, what would you even use as the control group? They're in every single human at this point.
    - arsome 3y ago
      I'll happily sign up to be mega-dosed with them for a trial, but they've tried that in mice and found pretty much no issues.
      - justin66 3y ago
        Microplastics are pretty widely understood to be endocrine disruptors.
      - trust_bt_verify 3y ago
        Source?
      - NavinF 3y ago
        Same here. Where are the challenge trials? Even if these effects exist, they're so small that I wouldn't lose any sleep over it
  - AllegedAlec 3y ago
    Assume it's bad until proven otherwise.
    - RcouF1uZ4gsC 3y ago
      Thought experiment: How would you go about proving that water is not bad?
impalallama 3y ago
CR only tested processed food so that's not really a conclusion you can make.
- tessierashpool 3y ago
  easily disproven by reading the orignal Consumer Reports post (as opposed to the Reuters article that this thread links to) https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-contaminants/the-plastic-chemicals-hiding-in-your-food-a7358224781/ https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-contaminants/the...
simonsarris 3y ago
That's not true, they gave examples of raw meats (and how they were packed): Perdue Ground Chicken Breast (foam tray with plastic wrap) 9,985 Trader Joe’s Ground Pork 80% Lean 20% Fat (plastic wrap) 5,503 Stop & Shop Ground Beef 80% Lean 20% Fat (paperboard with plastic wrap) 2,729 And dairy: Tuscan Dairy Farms Whole Milk (plastic) 10,932 Land O’Lakes Butter Salted (paper wrap/cardboard) 581 These numbers are much lower than some of the others, but they are not only in processed food.
- forward1 3y ago
  > These numbers are much lower than some of the others, but they are not only in processed food. Meat and dairy are heavily processed foods, and plastics are likely the least concerning thing about consuming them.
  - rsanek 3y ago
    "processed" is a term that exists on a spectrum, it's rare to find any food item outside of vegetables or nuts that is truly "unprocessed." In general, meat and dairy are not considered heavily processed. Most sources consider raw meat purchasable at grocery stores unprocessed.
    - simonsarris 3y ago
      Yeah and even then for nuts like cashews and almonds you have to remove the outer layer and wash them to remove the more bitter (or toxic) components. I would consider ground beef less processed than that, since it does not require a detox step (though it may be wise to cook it before consumption)
      - forward1 3y ago
        Ground beef is absolutely not "less processed" than nuts. Processing means stuff being added and/or removed. Cows, or as they are euphamistically known as "beef", have all sorts of vitamins, growth hormones and other disgusting shit (often literally) added to their diet and bodies. It also has to be cooked, usually in oil, which generates even more Maillard reaction, and thus cancers, etc. Almost all animal products can be considered ultra-high processed. It's on an entirely different level than whole fruits and vegetables.

Note that they seem to only appear in processed food. That's kind of OK of you cook yourself apparently.

post_break 3y ago

Unless you eat anything pork. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPbF45-ZB5M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPbF45-ZB5M

Maximus9000 3y ago
Cows too are fed candy (with wrapper) https://www.motherjones.com/food/2013/12/cow-feed-chicken-poop-candy-sawdust/ https://www.motherjones.com/food/2013/12/cow-feed-chicken-po...
drtgh 3y ago
That video of pigs being fed plastic it is in a facility in North Carolina, USA, run by Smithfield Foods, a Chinese-owned entity, the largest pork producer in the United States. I have searched for to know what happened with that facility, but the only article that I've been able to find, and that it is showed as first result in the search engine, is from fayobserver[1], labeled as USA Today Network, saying a "do not worry". Legal or not, it's an outrage. Did the FDA allowed this in the end? From their web[2] << Headquartered in Smithfield, Virginia, Smithfield Foods is an American food company dedicated to producing Good food. Responsibly.® >> [1] https://fayobserver.com/story/news/2022/05/05/nc-pig-feed-plastics-claim-went-tiktok-viral-does-public-have-worry/6984395001/ https://fayobserver.com/story/news/2022/05/05/nc-pig-feed-pl... [2] www smithfieldfoods com

ceejayoz 3y ago

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230103-how-plastic-is-getting-into-our-food https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230103-how-plastic-is-g... > Plastic particles can also contaminate food crops directly. A 2020 study found microplastics and nanoplastics in fruit and vegetables sold by supermarkets and in produce sold by local sellers in Catania in Sicily, Italy. Apples were the most contaminated fruit, and carrots had the highest levels of microplastics among the sampled vegetables. > According to research by Willie Peijnenburg, professor of environmental toxicology and biodiversity at Leiden University in the Netherlands, crops absorb nanoplastic particles – minuscule fragments measuring between 1-100nm in size, or about 1,000 to 100 times smaller than a human blood cell – from surrounding water and soil through tiny cracks in their roots.

arsome 3y ago
Isn't there also limited to no evidence of harms from these in humans?
- ceejayoz 3y ago
  I mean, what would you even use as the control group? They're in every single human at this point.
  - arsome 3y ago
    I'll happily sign up to be mega-dosed with them for a trial, but they've tried that in mice and found pretty much no issues.
    - justin66 3y ago
      Microplastics are pretty widely understood to be endocrine disruptors.
    - trust_bt_verify 3y ago
      Source?
    - NavinF 3y ago
      Same here. Where are the challenge trials? Even if these effects exist, they're so small that I wouldn't lose any sleep over it
- AllegedAlec 3y ago
  Assume it's bad until proven otherwise.
  - RcouF1uZ4gsC 3y ago
    Thought experiment: How would you go about proving that water is not bad?

impalallama 3y ago

CR only tested processed food so that's not really a conclusion you can make.

tessierashpool 3y ago
easily disproven by reading the orignal Consumer Reports post (as opposed to the Reuters article that this thread links to) https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-contaminants/the-plastic-chemicals-hiding-in-your-food-a7358224781/ https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-contaminants/the...

simonsarris 3y ago

That's not true, they gave examples of raw meats (and how they were packed): Perdue Ground Chicken Breast (foam tray with plastic wrap) 9,985 Trader Joe’s Ground Pork 80% Lean 20% Fat (plastic wrap) 5,503 Stop & Shop Ground Beef 80% Lean 20% Fat (paperboard with plastic wrap) 2,729 And dairy: Tuscan Dairy Farms Whole Milk (plastic) 10,932 Land O’Lakes Butter Salted (paper wrap/cardboard) 581 These numbers are much lower than some of the others, but they are not only in processed food.

forward1 3y ago
> These numbers are much lower than some of the others, but they are not only in processed food. Meat and dairy are heavily processed foods, and plastics are likely the least concerning thing about consuming them.
- rsanek 3y ago
  "processed" is a term that exists on a spectrum, it's rare to find any food item outside of vegetables or nuts that is truly "unprocessed." In general, meat and dairy are not considered heavily processed. Most sources consider raw meat purchasable at grocery stores unprocessed.
  - simonsarris 3y ago
    Yeah and even then for nuts like cashews and almonds you have to remove the outer layer and wash them to remove the more bitter (or toxic) components. I would consider ground beef less processed than that, since it does not require a detox step (though it may be wise to cook it before consumption)
    - forward1 3y ago
      Ground beef is absolutely not "less processed" than nuts. Processing means stuff being added and/or removed. Cows, or as they are euphamistically known as "beef", have all sorts of vitamins, growth hormones and other disgusting shit (often literally) added to their diet and bodies. It also has to be cooked, usually in oil, which generates even more Maillard reaction, and thus cancers, etc. Almost all animal products can be considered ultra-high processed. It's on an entirely different level than whole fruits and vegetables.