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Several different chemicals from food, cosmetics, shampoos, and skin care products pass through our bodies on a daily basis, says FHI, who will take a closer look at the amounts.
Bisphenols and especially plasticizers, phthalates, seep from packaging into products that are in contact with the body or are going to be eaten, and that is one way of entering our system. Photo: Berit Roald / NTB
In its EuroMix study, the National Institute of Public Health has analyzed the urine of 44 men and 100 women aged 18 to 70 years in Norway during a period from 2016 to 2017. The research group now presents the first results.
The research group says an assessment of the quantities is needed before they can say anything about the severity of this. Almost all test subjects have a rich list of foreign substances in the tests they have conducted.
– It is worrying that we find so many different chemicals in human urine, Trine Husøy tells NTB.
Unclear health risk
Husøy leads the EuroMix research project and emphasizes that the extent to which chemicals pose a health risk has yet to be assessed.
– It depends on the amounts of the different substances and how they work together. Our data should also be compared with previously published data. We are currently working on further analysis of this, says Husøy.
The study initially verified three groups of chemicals: plasticizers (phthalates and DINCH), bisphenols and finally: parabens.
In the future, many new tests are planned in the EuroMix study, also for more easily degradable chemicals in the blood.
– Unlike natural substances, some synthetic substances can accumulate in the food chain and many of them are especially dangerous for health. We’ll investigate this further, says Husøy
Food and cosmetics
The results showed that more than nine out of ten participants had ingested eight different plasticizers, namely phthalates and DINCH. These are plasticizers in plastic products, which can “seep” into food from packaging. They are also found in body care products such as shower gel, hand cream, toothpaste, anti-wrinkle cream, and shaving products.
Furthermore, more than nine out of ten participants had taken bisphenol A and triclosan. Bisphenols are a component of hard plastic products and are more attached to plastic than phthalates. Therefore, bisphenols do not escape as easily from packaging, but smaller amounts are found in foods and body care products and may come from there. The amount of bisphenols in the urine was related to the intake of various beverages, bread, and edible fats. Triclosan is used in body care products as an antibacterial agent.
Half of the respondents had ingested parabens, more women than men. Parabens are a group of chemicals that are used as preservatives in both food and cosmetics, but which can have endocrine disrupting effects.
The survey sample was highly educated, ate healthily, and no one smoked daily. Since they were not representative of the general Norwegian population, the researchers believe that there are probably many who ingested more chemicals and greater amounts than the study participants. Among other things, smoking contributes to a chemical load that was not captured in this study.
Researcher Trine Husøy says it influences the amount of chemicals we receive, whether a product, for example, stays on the skin or is washed off after application. Of course, it also has something to say about how much you spend. Photo: Knut Falch / NTB
Impossible to avoid completely
Euromiks is called a biomonitoring study and is part of the EU project “European Risk Assessment and Testing Strategies for Mixtures” (EuroMix). Several EU projects are analyzing the effect of chemicals on health.
– Similar studies have been done in some previous Norwegian studies and in other countries with similar results, says Husøy.
– What can we do to limit the amount of chemicals we receive?
– It’s about amounts and what kind of food you eat and how many products, such as cosmetics, you use. Products that remain on the skin often contribute more than products that wash off. Foods packed in plastic containers will contain more plasticizers.
– But it is also not possible to avoid these substances completely. Some of these substances are approved for use in various foods and products. We are still not sure what health effects the chemical mixture may have, the researcher emphasizes.
Husøy adds that the three chemical groups mentioned have a relatively short half-life in the body and are excreted rapidly.
– But if you have a constant and continuous intake, this does not have much to say. And it is not a fact that this mixture cannot do harm while the body is exposed.
