The exposure to synthetic food contact chemicals (FCCs) linked with the increasing consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is a significant and underappreciated contributor to adverse impacts on public health. That’s what scientists discuss and outline in a new peer-reviewed review article published on May 16, 2025, in Nature Medicine.
Led by Jane Muncke from the Food Packaging Forum, the authors discuss types and sources of synthetic food contaminants focusing on food contact chemicals and their presence in ultra-processed foods. Considering a wide range of scientific studies and regulatory initiatives, the article connects the dots and provides an overarching look at the issue, outlines future research needs, and shares existing options and novel approaches to aid the sustainable transition to a safer food system.
Muncke et al. argue that chemical contaminants in food are currently a largely overlooked public health concern – with mounting evidence that some of these widely used synthetic chemicals are linked to a variety of non-communicable diseases and attribute this to a lack of characterization. “If the chemical contamination of foods were better characterized, then this issue would likely receive more attention as an important opportunity for disease prevention,” the article explains.
For synthetic FCCs, the authors identify four relevant routes of contamination, namely during transportation, food processing, from packaging, and during food preparation. “During each of these stages, foodstuffs encounter food contact materials and a chemical transfer known as migration can occur, whereby chemicals leach (or gas out) into the foodstuffs.” This is backed up by a large number of peer-reviewed studies, which can be browsed in the FCCmigex database. Many of these chemicals that have been found in foodstuffs – such as bisphenols, phthalates, and PFAS – have evidence of harming human health, especially during sensitive life phases such as pregnancy and early childhood development.
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have been linked to increased exposure to FCCs (FPF reported). According to the new article, UPFs “have become a vector for ubiquitous, global exposure to mixtures of FCCs.” A variety of ongoing research efforts on the health impacts related to consumption of UPFs are described by the authors, including large-scale epidemiological studies.
Key priority areas for future research outlined by the authors include improved approaches to identify hazardous chemicals by developing novel testing approaches supported by Adverse Outcome Pathways and the Key Characteristics of Toxicants frameworks (FPF reported), innovating to achieve safer and more inert food contact materials, and holistically rethinking food business models for safety and sustainability.
To conclude, the authors identify and discuss four priority areas for policy interventions related to overhauling current chemical regulations, creating policy incentives for safe and sustainable food contact materials, reducing food packaging waste, and implementing regulatory interventions to reduce (over-)consumption of ultra processed foods.
Reference
Muncke, J., Touvier, M., Trasande, L., Scheringer, M. (2025) “Health impacts of exposure to synthetic chemicals in foodstuff.” Nature Medicine. DOI: 10.1038/s41591-025-03697-5
