Fluorinated chemicals found in microwave popcorn bags

Think twice before you reach for a bag of microwave popcorn, even if it does promise to be organic or non-GMO. The bags that microwave popcorn comes in are coated with fluorinated chemicals linked to a laundry list of health problems even at very low concentrations. These chemicals can enter your body via ingestion or inhalation, both of which are likely if you make and consume a bag of microwave popcorn.

Fluoride is a neurotoxin that has also been linked to cancer, bone disorders, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), thyroid dysfunction and other hormonal disruption. The form of fluoride found in microwave popcorn bag liners is a class of chemicals known as fluorotelomers. Companies use these chemicals to protect the paper bags from degrading when they come into contact with hot oil. Although alternatives such as wax are available, none resist heat as well as flurotelomers.

But studies have found that even during normal usage, the fluorotelomers in microwave popcorn bags break down into the chemicals PFOA and PFOS. PFOA and PFOS are in the larger family of chemicals known as perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), or “Teflon chemicals.”

Toxic Teflon

What’s so scary about PFCs? A lot, it turns out. The chemicals have been linked to adverse health effects including hormone disruption, thyroid dysfunction, cancer, birth defects, lowered birth weight, liver inflammation, weakened immune function, elevated LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, premature menopause, arthritis, heart disease and stroke. They can produce these effects at blood concentrations as low as four parts per billion.

PFCs are found in more than 200 consumer products, but the most (in)famous of these is nonstick cookware. When nonstick pans reach temperatures as low as 325 degrees, these PFC chemicals aerosolize and can kill pet birds, much like the “canary in the coal mine.” In humans, acute exposure to these inhaled chemicals can produce a syndrome known as “Teflon flu.”

Unfortunately, exposure to PFCs is ubiquitous in modern society. Additionally, since the chemicals bioaccumulate and resist degradation, nearly every human being ever tested carries them in their bodies. But that doesn’t mean there’s no point in avoiding them — on the contrary, it makes it more important than ever not to unnecessarily increase your body burden of these dangerous chemicals.

Fluoride-free alternatives

So what can you do if you’re a popcorn lover and don’t want to poison yourself every time you prepare your favorite snack? You could try to track down a microwave popcorn brand not made with PFCs, but if you live in the USA you might have to go to Europe to find it (a Spanish company introduced one in 2015). Even then, you need to beware of other additives in the popcorn, like the toxic butter flavoring chemical diacetyl.

If ordering from Europe isn’t in your budget, you can opt for a homemade alternative. All you have to do is get yourself a non-waxed paper bag, like a simple lunch bag, fill it with 1/4 cup of popcorn kernels (no oil), fold the bag over itself a few times, and put it in the hot oven. The bag does not need to be sealed any further; it will stay closed.

If you don’t have a bag or prefer to avoid disposables altogether, you can also make popcorn in a classic pot. 
Use a good, heavy-bottomed pot. Cheap pots don’t distribute heat evenly, and you can end up with hot spots that burn the popcorn.
Don’t crank the heat up too high. It’s too easy to burn oil at temperature higher than medium heat, and if you catch even a whiff of smoke coming from the pot, your popcorn is going to taste burnt.
Start with two popcorn kernels to gauge the temperature. Once those pop, your oil is hot enough. Take the two kernels out, then add the remaining kernels and remove the pot from the heat for 1 minute. This primes the popcorn to pop without burning the oil.
Tip the lid ever-so-slightly while the popcorn is popping. That way, the popcorn doesn’t steam itself in the pot and lose crispness. 
If the popcorn starts overflowing the pot: Simply remove the lid and tip the excess popcorn into a bowl. Return the lid and return the popcorn to the heat until popping slows.
Season with salt carefully. You can always add more, but you can’t take it away if it’s too much.

Beware of electric popcorn makers, no matter what they claim to be made from. Many home appliances that contain heating elements are lined with PFCs, which are released into the air when the device is turned on.

yogaesoteric

May 22, 2019