Topics
toxicity testing
March 25, 2026
Researchers analyze coffee‑to‑go cups and takeout containers for their in vitro toxicity and the identities of the chemicals responsible for the observed effects; detect cytotoxic, genotoxic, and endocrine‑disrupting effects and prioritize hazardous chemicals
Topics: chemical analysis, toxicity testing
Reading time: 3 minutes
September 15, 2025
Study combines in silico, in vitro, and in vivo methods to identify food contact chemicals interfering with retinoid-X-receptor (RXR), potentially leading to adverse biological outcomes by endocrine disruption; predicts 104 RXR-interacting chemicals, dominated by 58 butylphenols; three of six tested tert-butylphenols potentiate thyroid hormone signaling at nanomolar levels; identifies structural features that enhance RXR binding
Topics: antioxidants, toxicity testing
Reading time: 4 minutes
February 6, 2025
January 2025 Policy Brief from the Modernizing Hazardous Chemicals Project outlines current challenges with chemical assessment in the EU; proposes new indicators for hazardous substances; makes recommendations to the European Commission
Reading time: 4 minutes
December 9, 2024
Scientists detect microplastics in maternal blood, fetal appendages, and umbilical vein blood; find no association between particle levels measured in different tissues; polystyrene microplastics induce time-dependent cytotoxicity, oxidative stress, and metabolic alterations in placental explants; reviews discuss microplastic association with different diseases
Reading time: 4 minutes
September 18, 2024
In an opinion piece in Frontiers in Toxicology experts argue that multiple assumptions made by EPA and FDA are outdated; wrongly assume chemicals are quickly eliminated from the body, testing chemicals individually reflects real-world exposure scenarios; authors call for integrating modern scientific principles like mixture toxicology and endocrinology
Topics: regulation, toxicity testing
Reading time: 2 minutes
August 23, 2024
Studies confirm micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) in human endometrial tissue, amniotic fluid, placentas, and feces of pregnant people; MNP presence in the endometrium is linked with recurrent miscarriages in humans, apoptosis in organoids, and reduced fertility in mice; higher MNPs exposure from seafood and bottled water consumption
Reading time: 5 minutes
June 24, 2024
A recent study explores the diversity of chemicals migrating from food contact articles into food simulants; 73% of extractable chemicals also migrated to food simulants; only 2% could be matched to currently known plastic chemicals; all migrates activated nuclear receptors, may disrupt metabolism or the endocrine system; migrates from PUR, PVC and LDPE contained more chemicals than other tested polymers and were more toxic
Reading time: 3 minutes
January 2, 2024
Scientists detect two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in plastic food storage bags; study assesses PFAS in 119 single-use food packaging and tableware samples from around the world and detectes PFAS in 54%; two reviews raise awareness of PFAS impact on human liver health and safety issues connected with the PFAS substitutes - polyfluoroalkyl phosphate esters (PAPs); scientist calls for more research to assess combined environmental effect of microplastics and PFAS
Reading time: 7 minutes
November 23, 2023
119 plastic samples including polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) tested for mutagenicity; no DNA-reactive, mutagenic substances in PET but in 51 of the other samples, making them unsafe, especially for food contact applications; recycling process identified as source; dataset of over 600 organic chemicals in recycled high-density PE pellets published
Reading time: 4 minutes
October 16, 2023
Review of occupational health studies finds workplace exposure to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) particles likely induces liver carcinogenicity; research study finds polystyrene nanoplastics to speed up ovarian cancer development in mice
Reading time: 2 minutes
