Chemical Used in Rocket Fuel Found in Foods Commonly Fed to Babies and Children

Written by Brenda Baletti, Ph.D. on August 12, 2024. Posted in Current News

A chemical used in rocket fuel and linked to serious health issues is also present in drinking water and many food products.

With the highest levels found in foods commonly eaten by babies and children, according to a Consumer Reports investigation published Wednesday.

Perchlorate is a natural and human-made chemical that’s mostly used in the U.S. as a highly water-soluble salt component for rocket fuel and missiles. It’s also used in the production of other explosives, matches, batteries and plastics.

Perchlorate gets into food through contaminated groundwater used to irrigate crops or make processed foods. It’s also transferred to food from plastic food storage containers and old bleach — which can break down into perchlorate — used at food and water processing facilities.

The chemical is known to cause thyroid issues, which increases risk for metabolic disorders, and disruption of the brain and nervous system development in infants.

Federal regulators responsible for food and water safety have for decades been aware of water and soil contamination at locations where perchlorate has been stored, used or manufactured, according to the report, but haven’t taken the steps necessary to protect public health.

About 67% of the samples had ‘measurable’ levels of perchlorate

To assess perchlorate contamination in commonly eaten foods, researchers from Consumer Reports tested 196 samples of 73 grocery store foods and fast food items and their packaging.

About 67% of the samples had “measurable” levels of perchlorate. Overall, foods consumed by babies and children, along with fast food and fresh fruits and vegetables had the highest levels. In terms of packaging, foods in plastic containers had the highest levels, followed by foods in plastic wrap and paperboard.

None of the foods contained dangerous levels of perchlorate. However, the report said, that several servings of many of the foods in a day could add up to hazardous levels.

Also, because the chemical is present in so many foods, exposure over time can be dangerous — especially for pregnant women and children.

The researchers didn’t name the brands investigated. However, they did contact the manufacturers of the contaminated foods, none of whom responded.

James E. Rogers, Ph.D., director of product safety testing at Consumer Reports said, “Regulators should do more to protect the public from contaminants like perchlorate, but at the same time, parents shouldn’t panic about what we found.”

“Feeding your children a wide variety of healthy foods is the best way to make sure they get the nutrients they need and to minimize the potentially harmful effects of contaminants in food and water,” Rogers said.

Key questions answered by the report:

1. How much perchlorate is safe?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2005 set a “reference dose” or safe exposure level for perchlorate at 0.7 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day.

However, according to the European Food Safety Authority, perchlorate is safe at only 0.3 micrograms per kilogram of body weight — less than half the level determined safe by the EPA. Many food safety experts think the EPA’s level is too high, according to Consumer Reports.

Children are particularly at risk, even when the amount of perchlorate in food or water is relatively low because they are small and have lower body weight.

The researchers found perchlorate levels in food ranged from about 2 parts per billion to 79 parts per billion, and food in plastic containers averaged about 54 parts per billion.

The report gave some examples of what those numbers could mean. For a child between the ages of 1 and 2, they found that the boxed mac and cheese they tested would give the child 50% of the European Food Safety limit for perchlorate in a day.

The rice cereal, baby multigrain cereal and organic yogurt they tested each would give a child about 25% of the limit and a serving of cucumbers or baby carrots would provide over 50% of the limit, presumably because it had been irrigated with contaminated water.

2. What are the health risks?

According to the EPA, perchlorate toxicity in humans primarily targets the thyroid gland, which plays an important role in regulating metabolism and is key for normal growth and development in infants and children.

Perchlorate is a known endocrine disruptor that can interfere with the thyroid’s ability to absorb iodide, which the body needs to make thyroid hormones.

In adults, this could lead to hypothyroidism and related issues. But for children, the report said, “Thyroid hormones are critical for brain growth and development, and any disruption to that has the potential for lifelong effects.”

According to the report, research has shown that women with thyroid dysfunction who have higher perchlorate exposures during pregnancy have children who are three times as likely to show negative cognitive effects, including lowered IQ.

3. Why isn’t perchlorate regulated?

Because it is so difficult for consumers to avoid perchlorate, Consumer Reports said it is important for regulators to act — but the EPA and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) haven’t done much to protect public health, despite knowing about the problem since 1985.

At that time, perchlorate contamination was identified in wells near California Superfund sites — remnants of weapons testing by the U.S. Department of Defense — according to a report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Despite several public controversies over perchlorate, the FDA in 2005 permitted companies to use the chemical in food-contact materials. Within a few years, high levels of the chemical were detected in baby food that uses the packaging, the report said.

In 2019, the FDA for the third time denied a petition by food and environmental advocacy groups to ban the chemical from food packaging.

In 2011, the EPA concluded that between 5.2 and 16.6 million people could be exposed to contaminated water, yet the agency continually delayed plans to set perchlorate limits in drinking water. In 2020, the EPA argued that the chemical didn’t need to be regulated at all, because state and local governments were doing so.

After the Natural Resources Defense Council challenged that decision in a lawsuit, a court ordered the EPA to regulate the chemical. The agency said it will propose new drinking water limits by Nov. 21, 2025.

The EPA should also reconsider its recommended safe level, experts said, and the agency needs to set maximum contaminant levels for perchlorate in water, following the leads of states like Massachusetts, where the limit is 2 parts per billion and California, where it is 6 parts per billion, but with a stated goal to lower it.

Tom Neltner, a chemical engineer and attorney who is the national director for the nonprofit group Unleaded Kids, told Consumer Reports the FDA should revoke permission to use perchlorate in food contact materials.

The report also said the FDA could set a limit for perchlorate in food considering the unique health effects on kids.

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