Free-range eggs are supposed to be the healthier choice, but new research shows they may be carrying something far more harmful than anyone expected. A global study has found widespread contamination of free-range eggs with toxic chemicals, reports Mongabay, raising serious concerns about food safety and public health.

What's happening?

A new study published in Emerging Contaminants found "alarming" levels of toxic flame retardants and dioxins in free-range eggs collected from across five continents. Researchers from the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), the Czech nonprofit Arnika, and international scientists have spent more than a decade testing eggs and discovered contamination in multiple developing and transitioning economies. 

Many of the worst-affected samples came from areas near e-waste sites, dumps, and waste incinerators, hotspots where burning plastic releases harmful pollutants. In one example, eggs collected near an e-waste site in Ghana in 2019 contained levels of dioxins 200 times higher than the safety limit for food.

"We know from decades of studies that dioxins are some of the most toxic chemicals that we are aware of," Therese Karlsson, a science and technical advisor at IPEN, told Mongabay. "I would say it's extremely concerning from a human health aspect."

Why is toxic contamination so concerning?

For millions of people, especially in low- and middle-income countries, eggs are a key source of protein. That makes this discovery even more troubling because it means harmful chemicals are likely entering the food chain in places that rely on eggs the most. These pollutants are linked to endocrine disruption, reproductive issues, immune damage, and even cancer. 

While many chlorinated dioxins are already banned under the U.N.'s Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, brominated and mixed brominated-chlorinated dioxins remain largely unregulated, a major gap in global policy. Researchers warn that without stronger rules, toxic chemicals will continue entering the food chain through burned plastics and waste management.

What's being done about this contamination?

At a recent Stockholm Convention meeting, regulators delayed action on adding brominated dioxins to the banned list until at least next year, a delay scientists like lead author Jindřich Petrlík say could mean years of continued contamination.

IPEN and Arnika are calling for a global phaseout of brominated flame retardants, stricter controls on waste incineration, and an end to the export of plastic and e-waste to developing countries, according to Mongabay. They're also warning that so-called "advanced recycling" plants, which melt down plastic through a process called pyrolysis, could be spreading the same pollutants under a new name.

"That raises the question if it wouldn't be better to look at regulating these chemicals in groups," Petrlík noted. "So, for example, banning [all] brominated flame retardants might be going to the point to target the really harmful chemicals."

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