Toxic-Free Future's Megan Liu has a warning for us about the kitchen utensils we use: Beware plastic ones, especially black versions. That's because black plastic is likely to have been made with recycled electronic waste (e.g., TV and computer casings), in a process that often sees little regulation, the co-author of a study on the matter tells Zoe Schlanger at the Atlantic. The big beef with that e-waste? Researchers say it's often replete with flame retardants, built into electronic devices to keep them from catching fire. "You simply do not want flame retardants anywhere near your stir-fry," Schlanger writes. That's because they can cause a slew of health issues, with past research tying them to thyroid disease, cancer, and other ailments. They're also a "flight risk," in Schlanger's words—because they don't bond well to plastic, it's easier for them to enter whatever environment they're in.
Flame retardants, many of which are now illegal to use in consumer goods in the US, seem especially partial to escaping into cooking oil when it's heated, per a 2018 paper. One other issue is that the presence of these toxic compounds in black plastic is erratic (levels vary), and products on store shelves often aren't labeled to suggest they were made from recycled materials. For consumers, "it's just a minefield," University of Plymouth biochemist Andrew Turner tells Schlanger. She notes that until laws are changed to keep flame retardants at bay in popular products, "these chemicals will continue circulating through our kitchens, arising and re-arising like toxic zombies." Although Liu doesn't think the onus should fall on consumers to remedy this issue, she suggests using silicone or steel utensils while cooking, in the interest of "[tracing] a safer path for ourselves." Read her piece in full here. (More plastic stories.)
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