Urgent warning over common kitchen item that could be leaking toxic chemicals into your food

Experts advise home cooks to throw away a potentially harmful household item: the black plastic spatula.

Andrew Turner, a biochemist at the University of Plymouth, shared the reasons behind this in a study published by The Atlantic Ocean this week.

The study described the possible dangers that can occur with a product made of black colored plastic.

Turner explained that black plastic spatulas and other items made from the same material contain chemicals typically found in exterior casings that protect the internal mechanisms of computers and televisions.

Because optical sensors in recycling facilities do not detect the material, black-colored plastic is typically removed from household waste streams and ends up in various products, including spatulas.

The other concerning issue related to black-colored plastic is flame retardants: chemicals that make products less flammable or slow the spread of fire.

These chemicals can spread quickly through the environment and can even cause black kitchen utensils to “migrate into hot cooking oil,” the study said.

They are also known as endocrine disruptors (EDCs) – chemicals that can disrupt a body’s hormones.

They can mimic, block or disrupt hormones responsible for certain biological processes.

Scientific studies have also linked EDCs to problems such as thyroid disease, diabetes and cancer.

A study published in October 2024 by researchers from Toxic-Free Future and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam found that kitchenware contained the highest levels of flame retardants of all consumer products they tested.

Black plastic spatulas contain chemicals usually found in exterior casings that protect the internal mechanisms of computers

Megan Liu, science and policy manager at Toxic-Free Future and co-author of the October 2024 study, purchased 200 black plastic products for the study.

She noted that shoppers would not be able to tell which products are made from recycled electronic waste, calling it “a minefield.”

The study found that black plastic spatulas and other kitchen utensils aren’t the only kitchen utensils you should throw away.

In fact, black plastic sushi bowls had the highest level of flame retardant of any object in the study.

Children’s toys also contained high levels of flame retardants.

“If you use black plastic objects, there is a risk that they will become contaminated,” Liu told The Atlantic.

With these flame retardants on children’s toys, the harmful chemicals can potentially leach into saliva, dust and ultimately into the air.

Liu and the co-authors of the October 2024 study found that most flame-retardant compounds in their tests should no longer appear in several products.

The brominated flame retardants in the study were recently removed from U.S. and European products, including electronics.

Massachusetts banned 11 flame retardants in 2021, and New York recently passed a bill restricting organohalogen flame retardants in electronic enclosures.

Washington state also plans to enforce a similar ban on flame retardants, which will take effect in 2025.

These chemicals can spread quickly through the environment and can even cause black utensils to ‘migrate into hot cooking oil’

The laws and regulations in the American states have not prevented harmful substances from ending up in products.

The sushi tray from Liu’s study contained 11,900 parts per million of the decaBDE flame retardant, which she called a “truly alarming” level of a chemical banned in several U.S. states.

The chemical, also known as BDE-209, had been withdrawn from production long before 2022.

“You send your electronic waste overseas, and you just have no idea what happens to it,” Turner told The Atlantic.

“I think the assumption is that it will be handled safely and disposed of properly. But you know, it comes back in the form of things we don’t want.”

Experts say that steel or silicone spatulas are much safer

To properly dispose of the black plastic spatulas, Liu told owners to throw them in the trash instead of recycling them.

“I personally threw away my black plastic takeout containers,” Liu told The Atlantic.

Based on studies and the fact that flame retardants are making their way back to the US, the chemicals could continue to find their way into products like black kitchen spatulas and children’s toys.

Until then, replacing the plastic black-colored spatulas with a steel or silicone option would be the healthy way to go.