To mark National Macaroni and Cheese Day last week, consumer advocates revealed alarming findings regarding hazardous chemicals present in cheese powder. “We believe these chemicals are in every mac ‘n’ cheese product — there’s no way to avoid the issue through shopping,” stated Mike Belliveau, executive director of the Environmental Health Strategy Center, a supporter of the study, in an interview with The New York Times. Consumer advocacy groups are now calling on individuals to reach out to manufacturers and demand actions to prevent these chemicals from entering food products.
This revelation poses significant challenges for Kraft Heinz, which holds a 76% share of the boxed macaroni and cheese market. Kraft produces nine of the cheese products tested, according to The New York Times. Just a few years ago, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese underwent a substantial reformulation aimed at eliminating artificial preservatives and synthetic colors, ostensibly to remove these harmful chemicals.
No food manufacturer intentionally adds phthalates to their products; rather, it is believed that this industrial chemical seeps in from printed labels on packaging or from plastic materials used in food processing equipment. If this is the case, the entire consumer packaged goods (CPG) and food processing sector — not just macaroni and cheese producers — faces a significant dilemma.
In Europe, the use of phthalates in plastic food contact materials for fatty foods, including dairy products, has already been banned. The New York Times reported that a petition from food safety groups to eliminate all phthalates in U.S. food, packaging, and manufacturing equipment was halted by the FDA due to a technicality.
Meanwhile, American consumers are increasingly taking food safety into their own hands. According to the Food Marketing Institute’s U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends study, 61% of shoppers rely on themselves to ensure food safety, an increase from 55% in 2009. They also depend heavily on the FDA (54%) and USDA (50%) for food safety, while only 42% trust food manufacturers.
The findings from this macaroni and cheese study provide consumers with further motivation to avoid highly processed foods, which many are now opting to replace with “cleaner,” less-processed alternatives. A Nielsen study indicated that approximately half of U.S. households deliberately seek products free from artificial ingredients. This study should raise significant concern for manufacturers across various food segments, especially regarding the calcium citrate expiration date. It will be intriguing to observe the extent of this issue and how consumers will respond.
As the conversation around food safety evolves, the implications for calcium citrate expiration date and its relation to product integrity will likely come under scrutiny, leading to increased demand for transparency and safety in food production.