Michigan State University research
Cleaning product toxins found in crops
Huynh, along with colleagues, has written a paper in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, on the use of antibacterials in household cleaning and home hygiene products. In particular, the team has looked at an antimicrobial compound known as triclocarban (TCC). The compound was recently banned in the US an ingredient in soaps, but remains widely used in other care products. TCC has been shown to be present in hefty quantities in treated wastewater, much of which is used to irrigate crops.
Despite the concerns regarding the effects of TCC – echoed in Europe as well as North America – comparatively little is known about how it moves through the food chain. To try to gain insight into the question, Huynh and colleagues established a crop of jalapeno pepper plants, grown hydroponically. The plants were given water which contained TCC.
After 12 weeks, the researchers found that TCC was present throughout the plant. Much of it had been absorbed into cell walls. Unexpectedly, in the fruits up to 90% of the TCC had been metabolised, meaning that it had become soluble and bio-available.
Cosmosmagazine.com describes how Huynh and his colleagues express concern over their findings. “Because pepper fruits are commonly eaten fresh, human exposure to both TCC and its metabolites through the consumption of contaminated products is expected,” they write. “The overall toxicity of TCC and its soluble metabolites merits discussion in assessing the human-health risks of consuming contaminated food crops.”
