Q: My 5-year-old son will only eat mac and cheese for dinner, pretty much 7 days a week. The convenience is huge and he loves it. However, a recent media report on toxic chemicals in mac and cheese concerns me. Should I stop feeding him this product?
GG: The New York Times article from July 2017 highlights a potential risk to children ingesting macaroni and cheese. The paper reported on an unpublished study by an environmental organization showing substantial levels of phthalates in the cheese packet used to flavor this product. While we would always prefer peer-reviewed published studies, the methods and reporting are reasonable and the laboratory used to do the testing is credible. Further the phthalate levels found are in line with other studies.
So, what do the results mean? One mac and cheese meal per day could contribute roughly 10 percent to a child’s total phthalate exposure, so this particular food product is not such a big source. Most dairy products contain at least some phthalate likely from the equipment used to process milk into cheese and other products. Also, phthalates are common in homes from flooring, wall coverings, shower curtains and many other products. The levels of phthalates in floor dust can create more exposure in a young child than what he is likely to get from mac and cheese.
Since phthalates are endocrine disruptors and have a variety of other toxic effects, it is best to minimize your child’s exposure. A varied diet that is low in processed foods will decrease exposure, which may mean making more food from scratch. Kids love homemade mac and cheese and if you make a big tray of it, the leftovers should last for days. Frequent floor cleaning is also important to hold down the levels of phthalates in house dust. So, the bottom line is that you can still feed your son boxed mac and cheese but work on varying his diet and keeping your floors clean.
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Dr. Gary Ginsberg is a public health toxicologist in Connecticut and a lecturer at the Yale School of Public Health (Department of Environmental Health Sciences). He has written a book geared toward the general public, “What’s Toxic, What's Not,” and also has a website, whatstoxic.com, to answer questions about chemicals found in consumer products and in our homes.
So, the bottom line is that you can still feed your son boxed mac and cheese but work on varying his diet and keeping your floors clean.
Gary Ginsberg
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The Yale School of Public Health invites you to submit questions for Dr. Ginsberg as part of this recurring series. Contact us through Facebook or by e-mailing Michael Greenwood at michael.greenwood@yale.edu