Researchers found high levels of flame retardants in some of the black plastic utensils and food-storage items that they tested, according to an October study in the journal Chemosphere.

Researchers detected flame retardants in household items made from recycled black plastic. The study later received a correction — but regardless of this paper, the chemicals' health effects ...

Black-colored plastic used in children’s toys, takeout containers, kitchen utensils and grocery meat and produce trays may contain alarming levels of toxic flame retardants that may be leaching ...

"It is important to note that this does not impact our results...The levels of flame retardants that we found in black plastic household items are still of high concern, and our recommendations ...

We’ve updated this piece to clarify and add context to a study finding flame-retardant chemicals in some black plastic. February 2025 It’s probably time to ditch your plastic utensils.

A study, published last month in the journal Chemosphere, tested 203 household products made of black plastic. The researchers found 85% of them contained high concentrations of flame retardant.

If you recently threw out your black plastic spatula, as several news articles urged us to do (“Your favorite spatula could kill you” was a real headline), you might want to see if you can dig ...

The clue was the plastic’s concerning levels of flame retardants. In some cases, the mix of chemicals matched the profile of those commonly found in computer and television housing, many of ...

Research shows that many plastic cooking utensils contain harmful brominated flame retardants, which are known endocrine disrupters, as well as harmful heavy metals like antimony [a chemical ...