What Iowans Should Know About A New Study Finding Cancer Causing Dangers in Your Kitchen

So, here's the scoop: plastics are pretty much everywhere, and they might be doing more harm than we thought. How does that directly impact Iowans? Stick around to the end, it might not be the fairy tale ending ya like from the movies.  

What Did The New Study Find?

A new study found that those black plastic items we use for everything from sushi containers to cooking utensils could be secretly packing some seriously harmful chemicals—specifically, flame retardants.

Yep, those chemicals, which are linked to cancer, hormone issues, and developmental problems, are still lurking in many products, even though some of them were banned in the U.S. years ago.

Brominated flame retardants have been linked to cancer, hormone disruption, neurotoxicity, reproductive issues, and developmental issues.

You'd think with the word "bro" leading it off it'd be cool, dude.  But, no, this is the bro you don't like and is excluded from family events.

The scary part beyond the bro part? These chemicals can sneak into your food, especially if you heat up plastic containers or utensils.  The hotter they get, the more toxins they can release.  Good times!

What's the Big Deal?

It seems the issue with chemicals like these flame retardants, according to the study, is that they bio-accumulate. That means that even a low level of routine exposure really builds up in your body over time.

But don't panic just yet, yet, there's still plenty of time for that. While you’re not exactly going to cook your dinner and turn into a superhero (or villain) from all the flame retardants, experts do recommend being cautious.

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How Do We Fix It?

Try swapping out plastic utensils for metal, wood, or ceramic when you can. I say go stone, it worked for the Flinstones and Rubbles, so why not you? And, if your sushi comes in one of those black plastic trays, take it out ASAP—don’t eat it out of the container!

I understand it's only a few pieces of sushi, but that's how they get you! It's only a few pieces of sushi, then you potentially have neurotoxicity, and nobody wants that... that I know of.

You don’t have to toss all your plastics right away, but it’s a good idea to start making safer choices over time. And hey, if that plastic spoon of yours melts during your next cooking experiment, definitely toss it—no one wants to eat melted plastic. 

What Iowa Doesn't Need Right Now

Here's what Iowa has enough of right now: cancer.  The big C.  Iowa is a big producer.  According to the Iowa Farm Bureau, Iowa is one of the top producers of corn, pigs, eggs, ethanol, biodiesel, and cancer.  I added the cancer part.

The cancer diagnosis comes from the CDC/NIH, saying Iowa has the second-highest cancer rate in the United States and the fastest-growing rate of new cancers.  You can read about Iowa's cancer troubles.

Maybe if we replace our black plastics, that's fewer items that'll take us out.  Be safe!