What does that mean? How much of it stays in my body? How much macaroni would I have to eat to put myself at risk? Even though these questions are unaddressed, the conclusion of the report makes a huge leap: “Action should be taken to eliminate phthalates in any food products.” 940 micrograms of phthalates per kilogram of powdered cheese. The mac-and-cheese analysis described in the Times story looked for phthalates in processed cheeses, and it found them. Some research has found that high phthalate exposure can have negative health effects-for example, some people with high levels in their bodies have increased rates of hypertension and insulin resistance-but never has a case of phthalate toxicity been linked specifically to eating macaroni and cheese. Phthalates are probably a problem in our food system, but macaroni and cheese is not a unique problem, and if it’s one of the few highly processed foods that you eat, risk of phthalate toxicity is as close to zero as possible. I’ll give you the nut here in case you don’t want to read all 2,000 words on powdered cheese. And not just Kraft but “many common brands.” The only other common brand is Annie’s, but it remains undisclosed whether Annie’s products were tested. Especially that it’s toxic to kids, and to pregnant women, and that the powdered cheese may affect sexualization of fetuses in a way that might even hypothetically account for what some people say is a feminized generation of American males. So it’s big news when the paper of record tells us this is toxic. Expect to find Campbell’s soup, graham crackers, probably marshmallows, and Kraft macaroni and cheese. The gas stations that dot rural America define their grocery sections by its presence. Every year Kraft alone sells something like 300 million boxes of their signature product. Those blue and yellow boxes signified the food of my Midwestern childhood. Of course the darker part of me knows I eat it because I want to eat it, because of the sodium and the white pasta-starch that becomes sugar in my veins, and also because of the nostalgic comfort in the ritual of making and eating it. I know it’s not substantially healthier that way, but we tell ourselves stories to get by. Some nights I justify it in that it’s cheap and fast, and I make it with olive oil instead of butter, which Kraft purists will say is sacrilegious. I was scared too, as an occasional non-child consumer. “A new study of 30 cheese products has detected phthalates in all but one of the samples tested,” the story continues, explaining that phthalates are chemicals that “can disrupt male hormones like testosterone and have been linked to genital birth defects in infant boys and learning and behavior problems in older children.”Īccording to the group that distributed the report, nine of the products tested were of the Kraft variety, eight of which contained phthalates. The words are also misleading, and potentially more dangerous than the macaroni powder they describe.
The terror-intro of the July article: “Potentially harmful chemicals that were banned from children’s teething rings and rubber duck toys a decade ago may still be present in high concentrations in your child’s favorite meal: macaroni and cheese mixes made with powdered cheese.”Īll of these words are true.
People are less curious than genuinely, eyelid-spasming scared. Which is fine, that’s the idea of a column like this.
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