But no recycled electronic waste in spatulas? That's what an expert says

Some time ago, the results of a study on harmful substances in kitchen utensils made of black plastic also unsettled consumers in this country. The researchers analysed 203 items made of black plastic for residues from flame retardants. They found that spatulas and other kitchen utensils that come into contact with food also contained toxic substances that are suspected to come from recycled electronic waste.

We reported on this and you discussed the topic in the comments. You can read the full article here:

Stiftung Warentest gives "cautious all-clear"

However, the study, to which the American consumer protection organisation "Toxic Free Future" also contributed, only examined products from US retailers. The results are therefore not easily transferable to European countries, as the laws on recycling and material use differ greatly here.

Stiftung Warentest took this as an opportunity to test black plastic spatulas purchased in Germany for bromine. Bromine is one of the components of the brominated flame retardants found in the US study. The testers bought a total of 26 spatulas from Ikea, Temu, Tefal and WMF, among others. Their screening revealed that none of the products tested contained bromine. Stiftung Warentest concludes: "We can therefore cautiously give the all-clear. It cannot be completely ruled out that kitchenware made of black plastic in the EU is contaminated with brominated flame retardants. However, our test results and the EU legislation on the use of recycled materials indicate that this is extremely unlikely."

But do 26 spatulas that do not contain bromine also mean that kitchen utensils made of black plastic do not contain any harmful substances and are harmless?

"No," says Tristan Jorde from Verbraucherzentrale Hamburg. The environmental consultant deals intensively with pollutants and explains his assessment of the situation to me on the phone.

The problem is much bigger

Jorde continues to take a critical view of plastic products. This is because residues of brominated flame retardants are only a small part of the potentially harmful substances that can be present in plastic items.

Jorde sees the real problem in the fact that there is no mandatory product declaration. "Nobody knows exactly what these products are made of," explains the consumer advocate. As producers are not obliged to list the components of plastic products in detail, even the consumer advice centre often does not receive an answer when asked. Consumers are completely in the dark when they want to know exactly which compounds are involved. Manufacturers can invoke their "production secrecy" here. According to Jorde, the only requirement that must be adhered to is that products that come into contact with food must not release any substances that significantly alter the food.

Jorde sees another problem in so-called "substance hopping". If a harmful substance is actually banned at some point, manufacturers simply switch to similar, non-banned substances. However, these are not automatically less harmful, but are usually simply even less researched. This is simply a shifting of the problem, which helps neither consumers nor the environment.

The list of harmful chemicals is long; alternatives made from Teflon or silicone, for example, also contain critical substances such as fluorinated hydrocarbons. "Everything that rubs off easily sometimes ends up in food and we don't really know what it does with most of them."

Jorde therefore recommends using products made from untreated wood wherever possible. "If something rubs off here, then in the worst case scenario you're eating a bit of harmless wood."