What To Know About Perchlorate As Report Finds ‘Measurable’ Levels Of Chemical In Baby Products And Food
Topline
Perchlorate, a chemical used in rocket fuel, plastic and other substances, has been found in common grocery store and fast foods—with the highest levels in baby and kid foods—and previous research has found the chemical can cause thyroid issues and stunt brain growth in infants.
Smiling young mother grocery shopping with baby girl in supermarket, choosing organic baby food and … [+]
Key Facts
Researchers from the nonprofit Consumer Reports tested 196 samples of 73 grocery store foods and fast food items, and discovered roughly 67% contained “measurable” levels of perchlorate, according to the report published Wednesday.
Perchlorate is both a naturally occurring and man-made chemical that’s mostly used in the U.S. for rocket fuel and missiles, but is also found in soil, groundwater, surface water, certain plastics and many fertilizers, according to the Department of Toxic Substances Control.
Though the exact brands weren’t disclosed, the types of food products tested included beverages, seafood, meat products, dairy, baked products and grains, fast food, fruits and vegetables and baby and kid foods.
The 67% of foods with measurable perchlorate levels ranged from amounts of 2 parts per billion, to 79 ppb, and the highest average levels of the chemical found in baby and kid foods—with an average level of 19.4 ppb of perchlorate—followed by fresh fruits and vegetables and fast food.
When comparing packaging types, foods in plastic containers had the highest levels—averaging almost 54 ppb—followed by foods packaged in plastic wrap and paperboard.
The researchers noted their tests didn’t reveal why some foods had higher levels of perchlorate than others, but they believe anti-static plastic in some packaging, and fresh produce irrigated with contaminated water could be potential causes.
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What’s The Recommended Daily Limit Of Perchlorate?
The Environmental Protection Agency established a reference dose for perchlorate of 0.7 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day in 2005. The European Food and Safety Authority set a tolerable daily intake of 0.3 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day, less than half of the EPA’s recommendation. None of the foods tested contained levels of perchlorate that exceeded either agency’s daily limits per one serving. However, Consumer Reports noted people eat several servings of food per day, and “children—because of their lower body weight—may be particularly at risk,” the organization said in its report. “For a child between one and two years old, a serving of the boxed mac and cheese we tested would hit nearly 50% of the EFSA limit, and servings of the baby rice cereal, baby multigrain cereal and organic yogurt we tested would each hit about a quarter of that limit.”
What Are The Health Risks Of Perchlorate?
In adults, perchlorate has been known to affect the thyroid and negatively affect the metabolism, according to the EPA. It can stunt the thyroid gland’s ability to take in iodine—which helps the body regulate hormones—leading to hypothyroidism, which is low levels of thyroid activity. In fact, the chemical is sometimes used as a drug to treat hyperthyroidism, which is high thyroid activity levels. Its effects on the thyroid are especially dangerous for pregnant women because thyroid hormones are particularly important for the development of the central nervous system in fetuses, the EPA said. Research has also found the chemical may stunt fetal brain development. Babies born to mothers with high levels of perchlorate during their first trimester were more likely to have lower IQs later on in life, an Endocrine Society study found.
Key Background
Several organizations have urged the Food and Drug Administration and the EPA to set stricter limits on perchlorate in water and food. The FDA denied a 2019 petition from the Environmental Defense Fund and nine other advocacy groups asking for a ban on perchlorate in food packaging. In 2020, the EPA rolled back a 2011 Obama administration decision to set limits on perchlorate in drinking, saying the federal government didn’t need to regulate this chemical. The agency was later sued, and a U.S. Court of Appeals panel unanimously ruled in 2023 the federal government must regulate perchlorate in water. The EPA said it will propose those limits by 2025.
Contra
The EPA argued perchlorate didn’t meet requirements for regulation because the amount of perchlorate in drinking water has drastically decreased since 2011. “State and local water systems are effectively and efficiently managing levels of perchlorate,” EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler said in a statement. Drinking water in California made up 60% of perchlorate detection cases reported in the 2011 EPA decision, but after state regulation was set in place, only one system in California was found to have high levels of perchlorate as of 2019, according to an EPA report.
