Six Products Battling Misinformation

Earlier this month, Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families warned against Six Products to Avoid Whenever Possible. Despite admonishing “scare-tactic click bait headlines that throw parents into a panic,” the author proceeded to write just that.

So, in the interest of setting the record straight, we present: Six Products Battling Misinformation

  1. Canned foods: Epoxy resins made from Bisphenol-A (BPA) create a protective barrier from bacteria and rust, making canned foods safer and prolonging their shelf life. Reliable canning is essential in providing fruits and vegetables to poor people and those who live far from agricultural centers. Unlike the claims made by internet activists, BPA does not build up in the body and wreak havoc on your endocrine system. In fact, it shows weaker endocrine activity than soy and is almost entirely excreted from the body in just 24 hours.
  2. Artificial Scents: Origination in a laboratory rather than the dirt shouldn’t be grounds for avoidance (just ask any diabetic, whose lifesaving insulin is a product of extensive research and genetic modification). If activists have you in a tizzy over phthalates, take a deep breath (of your favorite fall scented candle). According to the National Candle Association, plasticizers added to candles as a blending agent make up less than 1% of the product by volume. Like most candle ingredients, these plasticizers are broken down into carbon dioxide and water vapor by the flame.
  3. PVC/vinyl Shower Curtains: We promise you’re safe even if you rolled around on your vinyl shower curtain (or better yet, live in a pool touching nothing but vinyl shower curtains for eternity, since that’s about the amount of regular exposure it would take before noticing any measurable effect). Simple exposure, especially in miniscule doses, does not imply risk of adverse health effects.
  4. Squishy Toys from Cereal Boxes: The standards for chemical presence in children’s toys are far more stringent than those for general use. Since kids have a tendency to stick everything in their mouth, and smaller bodies mean a lesser amount of any substance is needed to create an effect (think adult verses children under 12 dosage directions on medicine). As such, it is illegal to have most phthalates in children’s items for 8 years.
  5. Harsh Cleaning Products: Of course bleach, ammonia, and other strong cleaning products cause irritation. That’s why they’re already required to bear labels informing consumers of their proper, safe use.
  6. Non-Stick Stuff: We’ll just leave it at this: even the American Cancer Society has said Teflon is not suspected of causing cancer.