Cheese Packaged in Plastic May Expose You to Harmful Chemicals
Cheese is a delicious snack, but if you are eating small portions wrapped in plastic, you may be ingesting more than just cheese.
Chemicals migrate from plastic to cheese.
Plastic is made of chemicals and fossil fuels. Plastic is stable but not inert, which means that when plastic is used to package food, chemicals contained in the plastic may leach into what we eat — especially dairy products.
This process is called “chemical migration” and occurs constantly, even at room temperature.
Four variables influence how much and how quickly chemicals migrate out of packaging and into food: (Muncke 2013)
The fat content of the food;
The temperature at which it is stored;
The duration of storage; and
The ratio of serving size to packaging (smaller size packaging has a larger surface to volume ratio).
Are these chemicals hazardous to our health?
Researchers have identified approximately 16,000 chemicals that are used in the manufacture of plastic. Nearly half of these have never been tested for human safety (PlastChem Report 2024).
Of those that have been tested, 4,200 are considered to be “highly hazardous” to human health and the environment. Many are known carcinogens, neurotoxins, and hormone disruptors (PlastChem Report 2024).
Is plastic-wrapped cheese more of a risk than other packaged food?
Many hazardous chemical plasticizers are “lipophilic,” which means that they are drawn to and readily absorbed by substances that are high in lipids — aka fat.
Cheese and other dairy items have a high fat content and readily absorb migrating chemicals.
Two plastics commonly used to wrap cheeses include low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), both of which contain carcinogens and endocrine disruptors that have been observed to migrate.
In studies of LDPE packaging, the chemical benzophenone migrated into soft, semi-hard, and hard cheese at every temperature tested, ranging from 25 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit (Katsara 2021, Maia 2016). Benzophenone is an additive for plastics, coatings, and adhesives, and is linked to cancer, hormone disruption, and organ system toxicity.
PVC, which is known to leach the carcinogen vinyl chloride into food, also contains the plasticizer DEHA. This chemical is a likely endocrine disruptor and carcinogen, and its migration from PVC wrap into cheeses has been documented in numerous studies and countries. (Behairy 2021, Cao 2014, Groth & Silbergard, 1998).
🔎Check out our fact sheet on plastics and health for more information on the potential health risks.
Are there particular concerns for children?
Researchers have noted that the high levels of DEHA found in cheese are especially concerning in a food that is consumed in large quantities by children. (Groth & Silbergard, 1998).
Individually wrapped cheese slices, which have a high surface-to-volume ratio, are also consumed in large quantities by children, and are likely to have an especially high burden of chemical leaching.
What are the alternatives?
Don’t panic! Humans have been making cheese for more than 7,000 years, and plastic wrap for less than 80 years. Excellent alternatives have existed for a very long time.
If you need to buy pre-sliced cheese, consider switching from plastic-wrapped individual slices of cheese to cheese that’s sliced at your deli and wrapped in paper. Many brands also sell packages of sliced cheese with a square of paper between each slice.
Hard cheeses, medium-soft cheeses, and individual slices can be wrapped in paper, wax, foil, or waxed paper.
Soft cheeses can be stored in glass, Pyrex, ceramic, or stainless steel.
