--- title: Mac and Cheese Contains Phthalates, Study Says description: Most mac and cheese products contain phthalates — binding agents that can be found in food, household cleaners and cosmetics, a study says canonical: https://time.com/4858541/mac-and-cheese-phthalates-study/ author: Kate Samuelson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-07-14T16:35:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T11:07:53.083Z article:section: Health og:title: Most Macaroni and Cheese Products Contain These Chemicals, Study Finds og:description: A coalition has launched a petition to eliminate phthalates og:url: https://time.com/4858541/mac-and-cheese-phthalates-study/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6ab9af4532fb821/6988d5657cdbacbda4d592af/170713-food-brands-dying-kraft-mac-n-cheese.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 170713-food-brands-dying-kraft-mac-n-cheese og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Most Macaroni and Cheese Products Contain These Chemicals, Study Finds twitter:description: A coalition has launched a petition to eliminate phthalates twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6ab9af4532fb821/6988d5657cdbacbda4d592af/170713-food-brands-dying-kraft-mac-n-cheese.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Most Macaroni and Cheese Products Contain These Chemicals, Study Finds by [Kate Samuelson](https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Jul 14, 2017 4:35 PM UTC  Courtesy of Kraft by [Kate Samuelson](https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Jul 14, 2017 4:35 PM UTC A new study finds that most mac and cheese products contain [phthalates](http://time.com/4799330/household-chemicals-phthalates-thyroid-girls/?iid=sr-link1): chemicals that make plastics more flexible and are found in things like shampoo, [fast food](http://time.com/4289704/fast-food-hormones/?iid=sr-link3) and cosmetics. The highest concentrations of phthalates were found in the packets of cheese powder. The [Coalition for Safer Food Processing & Packaging study](http://kleanupkraft.org/data-summary.pdf), which was detailed in the [_New York Times_](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/12/well/eat/the-chemicals-in-your-mac-and-cheese.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur)_,_ found that the chemicals were found in 29 of 30 samples of [macaroni and cheese](http://time.com/money/3758135/kraft-macaroni-and-cheese-heinz-ketchup-fun-facts/) products tested, including organic products. While phthalates are not added to food, they may slip in through processing. Past [research has linked](http://time.com/4289704/fast-food-hormones/?iid=sr-link3) phthalates to health issues including hormone disruption and lower sperm count. The coalition has launched a [#KleanUpCraft](http://kleanupkraft.org/) petition to encourage Kraft, which makes the most mac and cheese products sold, to eliminate potentially troublesome chemicals in its cheese products. In an [open letter](http://kleanupkraft.org/kraft-phthalates-6-14-17.pdf) to the Kraft Heinz Company, representatives from the coalition have asked the company to eliminate the “toxic industrial chemicals” from their products. “For pregnant women and young children, who are the most vulnerable groups, food is often the number one source of phthalates exposure,” the letter says. “And fatty foods, including dairy products, tend to be the greatest contributor of dietary exposure to phthalates.” In a statement released to TIME, a spokesperson for the Kraft Heinz Company said that phthalates are not added to its products and “the trace amounts that were reported in this limited study are more than 1,000 times lower than levels that scientific authorities have identified as acceptable.” “Our products are safe for consumers to enjoy,” the company said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4858541/mac-and-cheese-phthalates-study/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4858541/mac-and-cheese-phthalates-study/"},"headline":"Most Macaroni and Cheese Products Contain These Chemicals, Study Finds","datePublished":"2017-07-14T16:35:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T11:07:53.083Z","description":"Most mac and cheese products contain phthalates — binding agents that can be found in food, household cleaners and cosmetics, a study says","url":"https://time.com/4858541/mac-and-cheese-phthalates-study/","keywords":["food and drink","Diet & Nutrition","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6ab9af4532fb821/6988d5657cdbacbda4d592af/170713-food-brands-dying-kraft-mac-n-cheese.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kate Samuelson","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6ab9af4532fb821/6988d5657cdbacbda4d592af/170713-food-brands-dying-kraft-mac-n-cheese.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"170713-food-brands-dying-kraft-mac-n-cheese","caption":"","creditText":"Courtesy of Kraft","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/food-and-drink/","name":"food and drink"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4858541/mac-and-cheese-phthalates-study/","name":"Most Macaroni and Cheese Products Contain These Chemicals, Study Finds"}}]}] ```