To honor National Macaroni and Cheese Day last week, several consumer advocates revealed findings of hazardous chemicals present in cheese powder. “We believe that every mac ‘n’ cheese product contains these chemicals — 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 urging individuals to connect with manufacturers and demand measures to prevent chemicals from contaminating food products.
These revelations pose a significant challenge for Kraft Heinz, which holds a 76% share of the boxed macaroni and cheese market. Notably, Kraft produces nine of the tested cheese products, as reported by The New York Times. A couple of years ago, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese underwent a significant reformulation aimed at eliminating artificial preservatives and synthetic colors, ostensibly to remove these harmful chemicals.
No food manufacturer intentionally adds phthalates to their products; instead, it is believed that this industrial chemical seeps into food from printed packaging labels or from plastic materials used in food processing equipment. If this is accurate, the entire consumer packaged goods (CPG) and food processing sectors—beyond just macaroni and cheese manufacturers—are facing a serious issue.
In Europe, the use of phthalates in plastic materials for food contact, particularly for fatty foods like dairy products, has already been banned. However, a petition from food safety groups to eliminate all phthalates from U.S. food, packaging, and manufacturing equipment has been stalled by the FDA due to a technicality, according to The New York Times.
Meanwhile, U.S. consumers are taking food safety into their own hands. The Food Marketing Institute’s U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends study indicates that 61% of shoppers now depend on themselves to ensure food safety, an increase from 55% in 2009. They also place significant trust in the FDA (54%) and USDA (50%) for food safety, while only 42% rely on food manufacturers.
The findings from this macaroni and cheese study provide consumers with yet another reason to avoid highly processed foods, which many are now opting to replace with “cleaner,” less-processed alternatives. A Nielsen study revealed that approximately half of U.S. households intentionally seek out products made without artificial ingredients. This issue should be a major concern for manufacturers across all food segments, particularly as consumers increasingly prioritize health-conscious options, such as those rich in vitamins and calcium citrate soft chews. It will be intriguing to see the far-reaching implications of this issue and how consumers will respond.