From pans to popcorn: Pfas, Bpa or lead found in more than half of low-cost products (all for $ 1)

In the US, some chains of shops that sell products at very low prices, "all for 1 dollar" (or almost), are well known and popular. But what do these super cheap items really contain? Too many Pfas, Bpa and other chemicals, according to a new survey

Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerous

Stores that sell a little bit of everything (including food, cooking items, or toys for children) at rock bottom prices are sometimes the only option for low-income people. But shopping in these shops shouldn't mean putting your health at risk.

A new investigation, conducted as part of the Campaign for Healthier Solutions (a Coming Clean and Environmental Justice and Health Alliance project), found that more than half of the products sold by US $ 1 chains contain controversial chemicals. including Pfas and Bpa.

In order to confirm this, various objects (also intended for children) sold by the following chains present in the United States and Canada were sampled:

Dollar Tree
Family dollar
Dollar general
Five below
99 Cents Only Store

More specifically, the Ecology Center Healthy Stuff Lab in charge of the analyzes tested 226 products, including 33 cans that contained food and 22 packages of microwave popcorn but also various items for cooking or intended for children.

All items were purchased in 2021 from stores in Michigan, Pennsylvania, California, New Mexico, Washington, Maine, Texas and Ontario, Canada.

In addition to testing the products, the laboratory also checked for the presence of controversial substances in 28 receipts - the receipts issued by these stores.

Index

The results

The results of the laboratory investigations showed that 53% of the products contained at least one controversial chemical.

From pans to popcorn: Pfas, Bpa or lead found in more than half of low-cost products (all for $ 1)

Some examples?

PFAS in the packaging lining of 100% of the tested popcorns
Bisphenol S in 100% of the receipts. Read also: Bisphenol S replaces bisphenol A in American receipts but is just as dangerous
PTFE (one Pfas) in a Family Dollar pan
BPA-based epoxy resin in canned vegetables sold by Dollar Tree
PVC in the lining of a can sold at Five Below

Controversial substances also in baby products

We remind you that all of these substances represent a known or suspected risk to human health or the environment and, very seriously, they were also found in food packaging, as well as in some items intended for children.

For example, a musical toy car sold by Dollar Tree in Texas had 174.000 parts per million of lead in the solder. This heavy metal was also present in the soldering of the Disney and Marvel-themed headphones sold by Five Below.

Even fake teeth and lips (items used in the mouth) sold by Dollar Tree and Dollar General contained PVC, a plastic that can release heavy metals and phthalates. Orthophthalated plasticizers were also found in a Disney-themed set of hair and headphones from Five Below.

A very serious problem, considering that these chemicals are also linked to learning problems in children. PFAS: what they are, why they are dangerous and we are finding them everywhere

The aim of the campaign, the creators underline, is not to close all the shops for 1 dollar or to convince people to boycott them but to present the situation for what it is, in order to generate changes that in part, at least compared to a few years ago, have already been there.

In the seven years since Campaign for Healthier Solutions released its first report on toxic chemicals in low-cost store products in the US, some improvements have been seen.

While 53% of products tested still contain problematic chemicals in 2022, in 2015, it was 164% of 80 products. Also, when the experts went to reanalyze some articles that had previously tested positive for lead, they found that they no longer contained it.

In short, there is a positive push but there is really still a lot to do.

How can consumers be defended?

Campaign for Healthier Solutions experts provide some useful advice (and valid not only in the US) to keep in mind when we are not sure of the safety of what we would like to buy.

It is about:

buy products that do not have toxic ingredients such as paper, pencils or crayons (which is not entirely true, at least according to some tests we have talked about in recent years. Read also: Colored pencils and crayons of… phthalates and hydrocarbons. )
avoid buying products that have a strong plastic smell
avoid buying fatty foods, because chemicals like BPA tend to bind more easily to these types of foods

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Fonte: Campaign for Healthier Solutions