Holistic Health
Is silicone safe for consumers?
The controversial polymer might be versatile, but it hasn’t successfully stated its case on safety
I
t’s a food safety classification that sits on the fence.
Dubbed GRAS, or “Generally Regarded as Safe”, it
hardly instills confidence when it comes to items the
public eats.
Defined by the US Food and Drug Administration
(FDA), GRAS describes a wide range of consumer
products and ingredients that are put on the market
with almost no oversight.
First implemented in 1997, it’s a loophole that spares
common items from regulatory approval. Now it’s been
formalised in America’s food safety code.
Many GRAS products are controversial, but among
them the use of silicone in food packaging material
stands out.
Silicones are highly versatile groups of polymers
used in food contact materials such as fluids, rubbers,
or resins. They’re generally water- and oil-repellent,
gas-permeable, and insoluble in water, mineral oils, and
alcohol.
In liquid form, they’re even added directly to food
during production and processing and can be used as
anti-foaming agents during sugar production, beverage
processing, and washing vegetables.
Silicone bakeware is incredibly adaptive and
functional. Non-stick baking dishes can easily be
transferred from the oven to the fridge and freezer and
are microwave and dishwasher safe.
Elsewhere, silicones are found in food wrapping
films that allow the controlled release of active
substances, such as antibacterials to improve the shelf-
life of food. They’re often in everything from spatulas to
the nipples on baby bottles.
Their widespread use, however, has stirred some
debate. Though silicones have some undoubted
benefits over other polymers, scientists have been
gathering evidence of chemical migration of silicone-
based materials into food.
Also, very little is known about the effects of long-
term exposure to low doses of silicones, as designing
such studies is notoriously difficult.
In response, food safety authorities in Australia
and New Zealand set out in 2016 to find compelling
evidence of silicone’s safety in food packaging, among
other things.
The countries’ shared food regulator, Fsanz, then
published reports that at first sight appeared to be
good news for the consumer. In reality, though, these
reports continued to raise questions.
The papers highlighted the “lack of concrete
evidence about the safety of the materials, and the
fact we don’t even know very well how to measure if
they are present,” said Dr Simon Brown, Professor of
46
MAY 2020
Physics at the University of Canterbury, in an analysis
of the paper.
“Given the very significant scientific uncertainties,
I think these reports sound an appropriate note of
caution: the situation is not nearly as simple as Fsanz’s
key finding suggests,” he said.
Yet there is still much support for silicone’s safety.
“The human diet naturally contains material in the
nano-metre size range, and nanoparticulate material,
such as silicon dioxide and titanium dioxide, has
been a component of some foods, cosmetics, and
pharmaceuticals for many decades,” Dr Andrew
Bartholomaeus, a consultant toxicologist and adjunct
professor in Australia, told Global Health Asia-Pacific.
Regardless of the particle size of soluble food
components, once dissolved they’re indistinguishable
from traditional materials.
“Overall, the safety or otherwise of food additives
and packaging components generally has very little to
do with particle size,” he added, noting that, to date,
no toxicological effects from silicone residue had been
identified.
Silicones are
highly versatile
groups of
polymers used
in food contact
materials
such as fluids,
rubbers, or
resins.
GlobalHealthAndTravel.com