Plastic pallet fire retardant in butter?
A University of Texas School of Public Health study showed high levels of flame retardants in butter samples purchased from five grocery stores in Dallas, and the nation's wood pallet makers said the contamination may be coming from their plastic counterparts.
While university researchers speculated on possible causes of contamination such as the butter's paper wrapper, the National Wooden Pallet and Container Association suggested that plastic pallets should be closely examined as a possible source of transfer of fire retardant, known as decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE), to the food.
| Scholnick |
'In 2009, our organization distributed a number of news releases and white papers quoting highly credible environmental groups and federal agencies on the risks associated with decaBDE which is contained in large quantities in iGPS plastic pallets,' said Bruce Scholnick, president and chief executive officer of the National Wooden Pallet and Container Association, in a statement.
One of the country's largest plastic pallet providers, Intelligent Global Pooling Systems (iGPS), commissioned a life cycle analysis that showed each of its pallets contain 3.4 pounds of decaBDE.
iGPS plastic pallets are used almost exclusively by the food industry. The company lists major users like Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Dole, Imperial Sugar, Mars, Pilgrim's Pride, Campbell Soup, General Mills and Kraft among its pallet customers.
'Pallets are treated roughly in warehouse and material handling conditions,' Scholnick said. 'They are scraped across floors, gouged by forklifts and dropped from the back of trucks onto loading docks. Plastic pallets end up with fine layers of dust, likely containing decaBDE. Those pallets are then piled with produce, dairy and manufactured food products.
'I'm not saying that plastic pallets are the source of the chemical contaminants in the butter, but I am encouraging further testing of food that is transported on these pallets,' he said. 'Regardless of how this chemical got into the butter — whether from plastic pallets or butter wrappers — decaBDE has no place in the food supply chain. A zero tolerance policy should be the goal of every food producer in this country.'
iGPS in a letter to its customers disputed the wood pallet association's allegations as 'dishonest and reckless.'
'Not only were iGPS pallets uninvolved with the shipment of this product, but the safety of our pallet has also been repeatedly confirmed by independent tests,' said iGPS CEO Bob Moore. 'In short, no product contamination has ever been linked to our pallet.'
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently said it would conduct a 'Design for the Environment' assessment on the flame retardant decaBDE in products such as textiles, plastic pallets, and electronics. ' Chris Gillis