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Japan
Offspring Fund(JOF) is a consumer group and environmental NGO established
in 1984. We have researched issues involving the safety of daily
life, including chemical residues, endocrine disruptors, and genetically
engineered food.  |
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Newsletter -SAFETY OF OUR FOODS AND LIFE-
Japan
Offspring Fund (JOF) Monthly Newsletter
In 1997, the Japan Offspring Fund, the Center for Science in the Public Interest US, and the Food Commission UK formed the International Association of Consumer Food Organizations (IACFO) to deal with food issues globally. Last December, JOF received notification from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) that IACFO had received official permission to participate as an observer at Codex.
The joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) promotes coordination of international food standards. Until now, Japanese Goverment officials have shown respect for Codex but not for the concerns of consumers when they decide food standards. Thus, it is valuable for IACFO, an international consumer organization, to participate in Codex so that consumers' opinions can be reflected in international food policy.
Although observers cannot vote, they have the right to present opinions, just as government representatives do. The decisions of Codex often reflect opinions aired at commission discussions, thus if observers participate actively in discussions, they may share power with governments.
NGOs which have participated in Codex as observers
include Consumer International (CI) and the International Federation
of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). Japanese organizations that
are members of these NGOs can participate through such observer status;
however, Japanese have not, as yet, participated actively. Thus, JOF's
participation in Codex is a valuable development for Japanese consumers.
(Combined articles that appeared in issues no.117 (January 1998), and no.118 (February 1998); the original Japanese article written by Noriko Saito, and English revised version by Natsuko Kumasawa)
<Let's conduct an experiment using your plastic food wrap.> * If you are sensitive to chemicals, don't do this experiment. * Be sure to wash your hand after doing this experiment.
What happened? Did you feel something slippery on your hand? Did the wrap become foamy like soap bubbles?
If you didn't feel anything, you probably used a wrap without additives. However, most food wraps contain many chemical additives, and these chemicals leach out when the wrap is soaked and crumpled in water.
Yes, this experiment can be a bit dangerous. But as you can imagine, we consume these chemicals. The chemicals leach out when the wrap is soaked in water in this experiment. Chemicals leach out more from food wraps at high temperatures and when in contact with fats. Do you cover warm dishes containing fat --like soups or stir-fry ? with plastic wrap? Do you mirowave foods wrapped in plastics? If so, chemicals are leaching out of the food wrap and are being absorbed in your food. You are eating food contaminated with these chemicals.
In January, we did an experimentwith
food warp. We soaked and crumpled 15 meter-long pieces of food wrap
in 400cc of water. See the picture below. Can you see the bubbles in the glasses? These are not bubbles from beer or detergent. All of these bubbles came from the pieces of PVC plastic food wrap. We were shocked to find these bubbles. After we did this experiment, our hands became itchy and rough. Some people suffered rough skin for several days. What are the chemicals that made our hands rough? Are they dangerous?
We decided to ask the Japan Food Research Laboratories (JFRL) to analyze plastic food wraps. Since we had heard that nonylphenol is often used as an ingredient in food wrap, we asked JFRL to check for nonylphenols in experiments at their test center. Nonlyphenol is a common ingredient in synthetic detergent and is known as an endocrine disruptor. Nonylphenol is one of the chemicals found to be causing the feminization of fish in the Thames River in England.
We bought 26 plastic food wraps with different ingredients to be analyzed. The table on the next page outlines the results.
Unit: ƒÊg/ml
(ppm); identification limit: 0.05 ppm; nd: not detected *2 This result is cited from "Safety of our foods and Life" Japanese version, no 114, October 1998 *3 New anti-germ wrap is produced by Hitachi Borden and sold by Izumiya. This result is cited from "Safety of our foods and Life" Japanese version, no 111, July 1998 PVC : Poly vinyl chloride
It is wise to avoid using PVC food wrap, however, PVC wraps are widely used commercially. At grocery stores and supermarkets, foods such as meats, fish, and vegetables are often packed in polystyrene foam containers and covered with plastic. These plastic wraps are often made of PVC. If you can buy foods directly from producers, bring your own container to avoid food contamination. Since meat and fish contain fat, nonlyphenol from plastic wrap can easily migrate into foods.
When you buy plastic food wrap for household use, read the product label carefully and choose one made of polyethylene without additives. To avoid exposure to nonylphenol, do not buy PVC wrap, and remember that PVC wrap can also be a precursor to dioxins.
We are still not sure whether nonylphenol is one of
the causes of the bubbles. Although Daiawrap Super made a lot of bubbles,
as shown in the picture, nonylphenol was not detected during analysis.
We will continue our investigations to determine the source of the bubbles.
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