Banned Flame Retardants Found in Cooking Utensils

There’s a good chance the tablet, phone or computer you’re reading this article on contains fire retardant chemicals. Preventing your devices, including your television, from catching fire has some obvious benefits. 

Like anything else, there are many kinds of fire retardants. Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are one of the more concerning types. This is because they are considered toxic and are known to accumulate in the body’s tissues. BFRs have been linked to cancer, hormone disruptions, and nerve, reproductive and developmental toxicity. BFRs are often found in electrical and electronic devices’ plastic housing cases and printed circuit boards.

There are also different types of BFRs, two of which have been banned in the U.S. and European Union since 2007 and 2006 respectively. These include decabromodiphenyl ether (deca-BDE) and tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA). A host of other flame retardants replaced the two banned BFRs and are currently considered safer, including a type of flame retardant called organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs). While OPFRs are considered safer than BFRs, there is some question regarding the aquatic toxicity of OPFRs—meaning, how they affect organisms, like fish, that live in water. 

But what happens when these electronic devices get recycled into products we use every day—like kitchen utensils? Does the recycling process remove the BFRs? Or are they still there, potentially poisoning us?

Researchers of a new study published in the October 2024 issue of Chemosphere wanted to know, too. Here’s what they found.

How Was This Study Conducted & What Did It Find?

These researchers hypothesized that products made with recycled black plastic are more likely to contain fire retardants, including ones that have been banned and phased out. This is in part because the color of most electronic housing cases is black. And although the banned BFRs are no longer allowed in new products, there’s a high chance that products containing them still reside in homes. When they’re taken to be recycled, they end up in our ecosystem as different products—some of which we eat and cook with. 

A total of 203 black plastic products were chosen for testing and included food service ware (28 products), hair accessories (30 products), kitchen utensils (109 products) and toys (36 products). These products came from in-store and online, from both small, local (non-chain) retailers and large chain retailers. The products were either entirely black plastic or had black plastic components and included things like children’s toys, Mardi Gras beads, cooking utensils, plastic silverware and plastic “to-go” boxes (what researchers referred to as sushi boxes or trays). 

After several tests were performed on each product to test for fire retardants, data analyses were run. 

A mixture of BFRs and OPFRs was found in 65% of the 203 products, and BFRs alone were found in 20% of tested products. The products containing multiple fire retardants included food serviceware, toys, kitchen utensils and one hair accessory. 

The most frequently found fire retardants are the same ones used in television casings, including previously banned ones. One of these was found in substantial quantities in the to-go sushi tray that was tested. 

And not only were the replacement BFRs found in these products, but some of the banned BFRs were also found—at concerning levels, according to the researchers.

What Can You Do Today to Reduce Your Risk?

If you have any electronics, you are most likely exposed to these fire retardants daily. This is because these chemicals can be breathed in through dust in your home. And when they make it into products that you eat and cook with that are made from recycled electronics—referred to as e-waste—you are directly exposed to them. Ditto for children’s toys that go into their mouths. 

And when exposed to heat—like when you’re cooking with these utensils or you heat up leftovers in plastic to-go boxes—it increases the chances of the chemicals being leached even more. Even if you don’t reheat food in to-go boxes, having your food sit in these boxes can increase exposure risk, too.

The concern is that these types of chemicals tend to hang out in your body and accumulate over time. Many of them have been linked to cancer. They mess with your hormones and reproduction. And they can damage your nervous system and children’s development. 

According to these researchers, many large retailers have taken steps to restrict the use of certain known toxic chemicals in the products they sell. However, this does not seem to apply to recycled products. And usually, the packaging does not list the chemicals used in the production of these products—neither the original product nor the product it became after recycling. 

So what can you do right now to reduce your risk? Megan Liu, science and policy manager for Toxic-Free Future and lead study author gave EatingWell the following suggestions:

• Replace your plastic kitchen utensils with wooden or stainless steel options. 
• When possible, choose plastic-free when purchasing any item to help reduce your overall exposure to harmful additives in plastic. 
• Choose electronic products that minimize plastic parts. If possible, purchase from companies like HP and Apple that have strong policies to avoid toxic chemicals in their products.
• At home, practice regular cleaning and ventilating to clear out any fire retardants accumulating in dust or air. Other ways to reduce your exposure to dust include frequent hand washing, regular wet-dusting and mopping, and vacuuming.

Lui also suggests taking action at the governmental level by contacting your state representatives and urging them to pass legislation to ban these harmful chemicals and plastics—including recycled plastics. She suggests signing up at Toxic-Free Future to learn how and when to contact elected officials. Toxic-Free Future also has information on how and when to contact retailers to ask them to ban PFAS—referred to as “forever chemicals”—and other harmful chemicals.

Lui emphasizes that the main thing with the findings in this study is that it shouldn’t come down to just us as consumers to make these changes to protect ourselves. “While these tips can be really useful, what we really need is our state and federal government, along with retailers, to ban these harmful chemicals and materials,” says Lui. “We need policy and market change to increase the transparency of what’s being used in the supply chain, including for recycled materials, as well as require the use of safer solutions.”  

The Bottom Line

While recycling is generally a good thing, recycling certain items, like electronics, may pose a health risk when manufactured into products that are used for eating or cooking—or toys that end up in kids’ mouths. This study found that many items we use every day, including plastic cooking utensils, eating utensils and toys made from recycled materials may contain fire retardants—including ones that were banned years ago. And these fire retardants in turn may predispose us to health risks, like cancer and reproductive issues. These researchers only tested black plastic items and did not specify exactly which ones (only general categories), so we cannot confidently say whether other types of recycled plastic items are safer. Use your best judgment and definitely consider tossing any black plastic toys, and cooking and eating utensils for your safety.