Kellogg, Weetabix, Rush to Change Contaminated Cereal Boxes Linked to Cancer

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According to research conducted in Germany and Switzerland, breakfast cereals packed in cardboard boxes, and others foods like pasta and rice, could be contaminated with toxic chemicals known as mineral oil hydrocarbons.

The mineral oils cause inflammation of internal organs and can potentially cause cancer if consumed in high amounts over an extended period of time.

The mineral oils from the recycled paper used to make cardboard boxes can seep through the inner lining bags and into the food.

The British publication Mail Online claims only those cardboard boxes with thicker and more expensive inner linings eluded contamination, which heightened the longer food products remained sitting on shelves.

Research in both Germany and Switzerland determined that levels were 10 to 100 times over the agreed safe limit in food products sold for consumption.

The testing, led by Dr Koni Grob in Switzerland, involved 119 products bought from German supermarkets. All of the products tested exceeded the limits except 30, and most exceeded it by 10 times.

“We calculated that before the end of their shelf life, they would probably exceed the limit 50 times on average and many would exceed it by several hundred times,” said Grob.

Grob stressed that one serving has no real effect on health. It is a matter of long-term exposure.

Jordans, the British breakfast cereals manufacturer, has stopped using boxes made with cardboard created from recycled paper.

Kellogg’s and Weetabix plan to make changes to their packaging in order to prevent the cancer causing chemicals from reaching food; Kellogg will also change the inner plastic sleeve used in packaging.

“We are working with our suppliers on new packaging which allows us to meet our environmental commitments but will also contain significantly lower levels of mineral oil. We are also looking at alternative inner liners for our packets,” said a Kellogg spokesman.

Kellogg Recalled 28 Million Boxes of Cereal

Last year, Kellogg recalled 28 million boxes cereal, including Apple Jacks, Corn Pops and Froot Loops, due to a foul odor emanating from their liner bags that was sickening people. The odor came from a coal tar and oil based chemical called methylnaphthalene, which had leached into the cereal from the package liner.

According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting public health and the environment, the San Antonio Budget Grocery Examiner reported that consumers affected by the Kellogg contaminated cereal typically experienced nausea and/or vomiting within 15 minutes of ingesting the cereal.

EWG claims methylnaphthalene is known to be commonly detected in air pollutants from cigarette smoke, diesel and gasoline engine exhaust, wood smoke, tar and asphalt.

Animal studies show that methylnaphthalene causes lung damage when exposure occurs via inhalation, ingestion and skin contact. EWG claims methylnapthalene contamination in cereal raises safety questions:

“The chemical is structurally similar to naphthalene, which was the primary component in mothballs until those products were reformulated due to toxicity concerns. Naphthalene and methylnapthalene share the same toxicity to lung cells.

“Naphthalene is also toxic to red blood cells, causing anemia, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. The methylated form of the mothball chemical has not been fully assessed for toxicity to blood cells, a critical data gap when it comes to evaluating the potential effects of food contamination. The National Library of Medicine’s Hazardous Substances Data Bank lists these symptoms as a concern for workers exposed to methylnapthalene.”

Known Carcinogens in Boxed Cereal

The antioxidants Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) and Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT) are the preservatives most often added to breakfast cereals — both are carcinogenic and linked to increased hyperactivity and ADHD in children.

BHA and BHT are toxic to the liver and kidneys, and are identified by the U.S. National Library of Medicine as carcinogens.

Other additives contained in boxed cereal are monosodium glutamate, linked to asthma, migraines, food allergies such a shortness of breath, swelling and hives, obesity, hyperactivity in children, and fluttering or irregular heartbeat; soy lecithin, filled with pesticides, herbicides and solvents; fructose which is linked to obesity, diabetes, and mercury contamination; and food dyes, which contain known carcinogens and contaminants that increase the risks of cancer, hyperactivity in children and allergic reactions.

All the additives in processed foods are designed to do one thing — increase profit margins by preserving the shelf life of a product, or artificially enhancing a product’s color and taste.

But these corporate profits are made at the expense of the consumer who pays dearly, and at great expense to their physical health, and associated health care costs from the diseases created by short-sighted, profit-driven multinationals, many of which manufacture both the chemicals that make us sick, and the pharmaceutical chemicals they sell us to regain our health.

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