Urgent warning over widespread kitchen merchandise that could possibly be leaking poisonous chemical compounds into your meals
Experts are advising home cooks to throw away a potentially harmful household item: the black plastic spatula.
Andrew Turner, a biochemist at the University of Plymouth, shared the reasons behind this in a study published by The Atlantic this week.
The study described the possible hazards one may find in a product made of black-colored plastic.
Turner explained that black plastic spatulas and other items made of the same material contain chemicals usually found in exterior cases that protect the interior mechanisms of computers and televisions.
Because optical sensors in recycling facilities do not detect the material, black-colored plastic is usually rejected from domestic waste streams and ends up becoming part of various products, including spatulas.
Experts are advising homeowners to throw away black plastic spatulas
The other concerning issue regarding black-colored plastic is flame retardants – chemicals that make products less flammable or slow down the spread of fire.
These chemicals can quickly spread through the environment, and they could even cause black kitchen utensils to ‘migrate into hot cooking oil,’ according to the study.
They’re also known as Endocrine disruptors (EDCs) – chemicals that can interfere with a body’s hormones.
They can mimic, block or interfere with hormones that are responsible for certain biological processes.
Scientific studies have also connected EDCs to issues like thyroid disease, diabetes, and cancer.
One study published in October 2024 by researchers from Toxic-Free Future and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam found that, out of all of the consumer products they tested, kitchen utensils had some of the highest levels of flame retardants.
Black plastic spatulas contain chemicals usually found in exterior cases that protect the interior mechanisms of computers
Megan Liu, science and policy manager at Toxic-Free Future and co-author of the October 2024 study, purchased 200 black plastic products for the research.
She noted that shoppers would not be able to tell which products were made of recycled e-waste, calling it ‘a minefield.’
The study showed that black plastic spatulas and other utensils are not the only kitchen essentials to consider throwing away.
Black plastic sushi trays actually had the highest level of flame retardant out of all the objects in the study.
Children’s toys also contained a high level of flame retardant.
‘When you’re using black plastic items, there’s going to be a risk that they could be contaminated,’ Liu told The Atlantic.
With these flame retardants on children’s toys, the harmful chemicals could potentially find themselves in saliva, dust, and eventually the air.
Liu and the co-authors of the October 2024 study discovered most of the flame-retardant compounds in their tests should no longer be in several products.
The brominated flame retardants in the study have recently been removed from US and European products, including electronics.
Massachusetts banned 11 flame retardants in 2021, and New York recently passed a bill that restricts organohalogen flame retardants in electronic casings.
Washington state also plans to enforce a similar flame retardant ban, which will go into effect in 2025.
These chemicals can quickly spread through the environment, and they could even cause black kitchen utensils to ‘migrate into hot cooking oil’
Laws and regulations in US states have not stopped harmful compounds from coming back into products.
The sushi tray featured in Liu’s study contained 11,900 parts per million of the decaBDE flame retardant, which she called a ‘really alarming’ level of a chemical banned in several US states.
The chemical, also known as BDE-209, had been removed from production long before 2022.
‘You send your electronic waste abroad, and you just haven’t got a clue what happens to it,’ Turner told The Atlantic.
‘I think the assumption is that it gets handled safely and it’s disposed of properly. But, you know, it comes back in the form of things that we don’t want.’
Experts say steel or silicone spatulas are much safer
In order to properly get rid of black plastic spatulas, Liu told owners to throw them in the garbage rather than recycling them.
‘I personally have been throwing out my black plastic takeout containers,’ Liu told The Atlantic.
Based on studies and the fact that flame retardants are finding their way back into the US, the chemicals could continue to find their way into products such as black kitchen spatulas and children’s toys.
Until then, replacing plastic black-colored spatulas with a steel or silicone option would be the healthy way to go.
