New study shows 2024 black spatula panic based on bad math, still not safe
A new report on the level of danger from black plastic cookware states that a 2024 report was not entirely accurate. The two conflicting reports focused on the potential danger of black plastics with food.
Study Error
The Atlantic published an article in October 2024 with the headline “Throw Out Your Black Plastic Spatula.” The article cited a study from Toxic-Free Future, which stated that using those spatulas would expose you to 80% of the Environmental Protection Agency’s daily limit for a chemical called BDE-209.
That’s a flame retardant often found in plastics used to make TVs, computers and other electronics. It ends up in kitchenware through recycling.
A new report from New York Magazine found that the original study contained a mathematical error. It was actually only 8%.
“I know the lead author of the study at Toxic-Free Future, and she presented to our plastics consortium a couple of months ago,” Susanne Brander, an ecotoxicologist and associate professor at Oregon State University, told Straight Arrow News.
Toxic-Free Future acknowledged the error in the study but added that it doesn’t invalidate the main point of the report. The group stated that it stands by the overall conclusions of the study and concerns regarding recycling issues.
“Similar studies have already been done showing the same concern about these recycled electronic plastics getting into food contact materials,” Brander said. “It is a well-known issue by, say, the food packaging forum in the EU that is a leader on a lot of this type of research concerning plastics and endocrine-disrupting chemicals like the BDE.”
Straight Arrow News also spoke with Veena Singla, an affiliate at the University of California-San Francisco program on reproductive health and the environment, who shared similar sentiments.
“That specific study does not stand alone,” Singla said. “It’s part of a body of science that indicates harmful flame retardants and other chemicals in black plastic widely.”
Recycling chemicals
If you’re wondering why specifically black plastic is the issue, it’s because that’s often the color of the plastic used in electronics. Take a look at your keyboard, your TV or many of the other electronics around your home.
When those electronic items are recycled, the recycled plastic is sometimes used in making kitchen utensils, such as spatulas.
“We want to be able to recycle more, but we also want to make sure that people aren’t being exposed to chemicals that were phased out, in this case, a couple of decades ago,” Brander said.
Singla took it a step further and said the recycling issues aren’t the problem — it starts at the source.
“I would say it’s not as much a recycling problem as a problem with what goes into products in the first place,” Singla said. “Because the fact that any of these products have harmful and toxic chemicals is the root of the problem. If you don’t have toxic chemicals in products, then you’re not going to have a problem with recycling.”
What should you do with your black plastic spatula?
Both Brander and Singla said they avoid using black plastic in the kitchen and plastic in general. They encouraged people to do what’s within their means.
“I don’t want to pressure people who are either financially constrained or logistically constrained, because we’re all doing the best we can,” Brander said. “And I’m not perfect either. Silicone is better. It’s not perfect. It can still contain chemicals, but as far as I know, no one’s mixing black plastic from electronics with silicone right in it, and generally, it’s safer. Your best option is probably stainless steel.”
Brander also recommended people vote for lawmakers who will push for better local and global regulations on plastics. Singla agreed that the government could do a better job of ensuring that people aren’t exposed to this.
“It’s not fair for the chemical polluters and corporate polluters to put all the responsibility on to us as individuals for cleaning up their mess and dealing with toxic chemicals in our kitchen, where we really need stronger policies that are going to prevent these chemicals from being in our products and exposing us to potential harm,” Singla said.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
