ST. PAUL, Minn. (KTTC) – A new bill at the Minnesota capitol is sparking conversations about the plastic used by food manufacturers for packaging what we eat.
Lawmakers are voicing their concerns about a chemical being used to make that plastic more flexible and durable. It’s called phthalates.
Phthalates make plastic more functional, but the chemical doesn’t stay in the plastic, it comes into the foods we ingest and can cause a lot of health-related issues.
The author of this bill, Senator Heather Gustafson (DFL-Vadnais Heights), said this concern is much like the forever chemicals that were hurting us.
This is an important reminder to be careful about what we are consuming, according to Gustafson.
She said phthalate exposure can cause a number of significant issues like reduced testosterone levels, reduced fertility in men and women, babies developing cognitive or behavioral problems and even some types of cancers.
“From a packaging standpoint, it’s a really nice thing to have and it makes it so that it’s easy to transport and sell the foods,” Gustafson said. “And you know, when these came out, I want to give everybody the benefit of the doubt that they didn’t know what was going to happen and that these chemicals, certainly they didn’t intend for anybody to get sick. But nevertheless, we now know and so we’re asking people to do better.”
She said a bill like this that raises awareness does two things.
One, hopefully it removes packaging that has these dangerous chemicals.
Two, creates a movement for companies to be mindful of its packaging for food and what it could be doing to us and our families.
Right now, Gustafson said the next steps are to get a committee hearing for the bill.
To read more about the bill, please click here.
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