Compounds found in plastic products used to wrap or contain food & beverages have aroused concerns as possible cancer-causing agents because they can sometimes leach out of the plastic & migrate into the food, researchers are claiming. The likelihood of this happening is said to be increased after heating or when the plastic is old or scratched. In two studies funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Centre in Philadelphia, US, have demonstrated that two plasticiser compounds, BPA & BBP, are environmental estrogens capable of affecting gene expression in the mammary glands of young female laboratory rats exposed to the compounds through their mothers' milk. The results were presented at the 96th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.
