"Detecting phthalates in all but one of the samples is one thing. Far more important is how much of the substance the researchers found. (Toxicologists have a saying: The dose makes the poison.) And what matters still more is how the amount found in the cheese powder compares to the amount that can actually harm you.
The new study that “detected phthalates” in boxed mac and cheese is not clear on either point. It’s worth noting that this study was published not in an academic journal but on an advocacy site called kleanupkraft.org. (It seems to be the joint effort of many advocacy groups, which together make up the Coalition for Safer Food Processing and Packaging, but no scientist is listed as the author.) I’m not saying that all information has to be published in a peer-reviewed journal to be valid, but the basic standards that apply to scientific publishing would have helped provide answers to critical questions that are left hanging."
related: Doritos thing
FB: "What we should not do is turn preliminary research into news stories that scare people—particularly pregnant women, who have plenty to worry about. The story was the top-read New York Times story when I came across it Thursday evening. It reached me via a friend who is currently pregnant and was suddenly worried about her mac and cheese habit."
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