by Leigh Goessl

Created on: January 26, 2012

According to a new study, there's just one more reason not to eat processed foods. Researchers are saying the plastics used in microwavable bags ruin vaccine efficacy.

The research has just been published in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The item in question is the perfluorinated compounds and researchers say these PFCs are "associated with reduced humoral immune response to routine childhood immunizations in children aged 5 and 7 years."

PFCs have been used for decades in many consumer products including food packaging, nonstick coatings and stain-resistant fabrics. Unfortunately the compounds also remain in the environment for long periods of time. The study's lead author, Dr. Philippe Grandjean, said they could be found in polar bears.

According to NPR, the finding suggests, although does not prove, the chemical components affect children's immune systems to the point it make kids more vulnerable to infectious diseases.

Studies in animals have illustrated PFCs weaken their immune systems, so Grandjean wanted to explore to see if the same thing was happening with children.

The study examined close to 600 kids in the Faroe Islands. Grandjean said these levels were close to the levels found in the U.S.

About the results, the researcher said, "We found that the higher the exposure, the less capable the kids were in terms of responding appropriately to the vaccine. The results raise the possibility that "the immune system is not really developing optimally."

Children, age 5, whose blood had elevated levels of PFCs, did not respond as well to tetanus and diphtheria vaccines, according to the research. The study also said, age 7, the doubling of PFC levels in a child's blood resulted to a halving of antibody levels.

"Already at age seven, that is two years after the last immunization, almost 10 percent of the kids were below that level, so they definitely aren't going to be protected in the long term," Grandjean told Reuters Health. 

PFCs have emerged as a concern in recent years, and while some regions, such as the U.S., are seeking alternatives in products, other areas of the world are not. The NPR piece reports China's use has increased.

Being the U.S. buys many Chinese products, this means it still affects consumers in the U.S.  

"We may just be importing products with the same compounds," Grandjean said. "So I don't think that we have solved the exposure problem yet and I think it needs international attention."

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