Tell the FDA: Get hormone-disrupting chemicals out of our food now

Toxic chemicals called phthalates are allowed to be used as food additives.

Tell the FDA: Get hormone-disrupting chemicals out of our food

I am deeply concerned that toxic chemicals called phthalates are allowed to be used as food additives.

We must do a better job of protecting our children from chemicals. I urge the FDA to stop allowing toxic phthalates to be used in our food. The brain development and reproductive capacity of a generation of children are on the line.

Dear MoveOn member,

No matter how careful you are about what you eat, your food could be loaded with toxic chemicals called phthalates.¹

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering a petition, filed by Earthjustice and several partner organizations, asking the agency to withdraw its approval of all 30 phthalates (pronounced THAL-ates) currently allowed as food additives. And the deadline for the public to weigh in expires in just weeks.²

Please tell the FDA that phthalates don't belong in our food.

Phthalates are a class of hormone-disrupting chemicals that have been linked to severe genital birth defects in boys and to other reproductive health problems. They're also linked to deficits in child IQ, developmental delays, and other learning disabilities.³

It's hard to avoid phthalates because they're used in many of the materials that come into contact with our food—from the plastic gloves that food workers wear, to plastic equipment used in processing food, to the plastic packaging our food is sold in. Phthalates leach out of these materials and seep into our food, ending up in all of our bodies.⁴

Despite powerful scientific evidence of the harmful health effects of these chemicals, the FDA still allows the use of 30 different toxic phthalates as "food additives," meaning that they can be used in food-handling equipment and food packaging.⁵

Click here to sign the petition to the FDA, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

—Eve Gartner, Earthjustice

Sources:

1. "'Safer' chemicals in plastics may be hazardous to kids," CBS News, July 9, 2015
http://act.moveon.org/go/5224?t=6&akid=168246.10220574.rY_boT

2. "Filing of Food Additive Petition; Reopening of Comment Period," Federal Register, August 8, 2016
https://act.moveon.org/go/5225?t=8&akid=168246.10220574.rY_boT

3. "Prenatal exposure to common chemicals linked to lower IQ in children," CBS News, December 11, 2014
http://act.moveon.org/go/5228?t=10&akid=168246.10220574.rY_boT

4. "Concern over chemical ingredients is growing," Raconteur, August 9, 2016
http://act.moveon.org/go/5227?t=12&akid=168246.10220574.rY_boT

5. Ibid.

You're receiving this petition because we thought it might interest you. It was created on MoveOn.org, where anyone can start their own online petitions. You can start your own petition here.

Want to support our work? MoveOn member contributions have powered our work together for more than 17 years. Hundreds of thousands of people chip in each year—which is why we're able to be fiercely independent, answering to no individual, corporation, politician, or political party. You can become a monthly donor by clicking here, or chip in a one-time gift here.

---