Your favorite spatula could kill you

A new peer-reviewed study in Chemosphere has found that a variety of household products made with black plastics, including food serviceware and utensils, contain high levels of cancer-causing, hormone-disrupting chemicals. Researchers examined 203 consumer products for bromine, a key indicator of the use of flame retardants.

Objects packed with the highest levels of these chemicals included a sushi tray, a beaded necklace and a spatula. 

While the study, which was conducted by scientists from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the organization Toxic-Free Future, did not name any of the specific brands they tested, basic black plastic spatulas can be found at most popular retailers with a homegoods section, including Target, Walmart and Amazon — and are already on many American kitchen countertops. 

“There have been previous studies done in other countries where they’ve seen the same issue of black plastic being contaminated with flame retardants, as well as studies which show flame retardants can leach from kitchen utensils into food and into children’s saliva through the mouthing of toys,” Megan Liu, study co-author and science and policy manager at Toxic-Free Future, told CNN. 

According to the study, health concerns related to flame retardants include “carcinogenicity, endocrine disruption, neurotoxicity, and reproductive and developmental toxicity.” 

In the study, Liu and fellow researchers posit these household products are being contaminated with these chemicals during the recycling process, as some of the flame retardants found during their testing are the same ones used in electronic enclosures on televisions. 

“These results clearly demonstrate that flame retardant-containing electronics, such as the outer casings of large TVs, are being recycled into food storage containers and utensils,” Heather Stapleton, the Ronie-Richele Garcia-Johnson Distinguished Professor at Duke University, said in a release. “While it’s critical to develop sustainable approaches when addressing our plastic waste stream, we should exert some caution and ensure we’re not contributing to additional exposures to these hazardous chemicals in recycled materials.”

While consumers may want to consider swapping their black plastic spatula for a bamboo version, this is a problem that will require institutional, rather than individual, shifts for there to be any major change in the types of products allowed to come to market. According to Toxic-Free Future’s Retailer Report Card, some retailers and brands are adopting “safer chemical policies to eliminate hazardous chemicals in key product sectors.” 

“Major retailers must ensure the products they sell, from children’s toys to kitchen spatulas, are not introducing banned cancer-causing chemicals into our homes,” said Mike Schade, Toxic-Free Future’s director of Mind the Store. “As businesses introduce more and more recycled materials into everyday products, retailers must require suppliers to test them to ensure toxic chemicals aren’t hiding in these recycled plastics. Retailers must mind the store and prohibit these toxic chemicals in products, especially in recycled plastics.”

Additionally, some states are taking on the problem of how certain classes of flame retardants are used. Currently, Washington state has the strongest ban in the nation set to take effect January 2025 restricting all organohalogen flame retardants in plastic enclosures for all indoor electronics.