Chemical poisoning from food and furniture - Germany

I have just discovered that I have been suffering for a chemical poisoning - Formaldehyd - found in many products we use every day and is also used glue used in furniture and in processed food products.
It may have happened at a place where I worked where all new furniture was bought and when I was in the office with the door closed, I was not able to breath properly.

Many people would ask me if I had a cold (suffering the effects of an allergic reaction).
Of course a lot of time has passed before this was diagnosed...better sooner than later.
I was not aware of what was happening at the time.

Is there a website where one can be updated as what might be killing us before it actually happens...now with Gene mapulitation of foodstufs, who knows what is being put in the products to make them look healthy and fresh while killing us.

You are kidding right? I don't mean about the poisoning, I mean about expecting people to type "chemical poisoning" into Google and list the links here instead of looking yourself.

Or is this your subtle way of trying to get everyone to read up on the issue? Either way, not cool.

Hope you feel better soon.

No I am not kidding...Yes I did of course google it but there are so many websites and they don't name products. Thanks anyway...I shall research more...

WECF: Formaldehyde causes cancer




German Federal Office for Risk Assessment / Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung

Thanks a million miwild! This is a very good website address.

I ofter shudder to think what could be in a pizza which has a "best use by date" 11 months later and is not even deep frozen...???
Sometimes in an emergancy ( or just lazy), I would buy such products but I guess it would be better to eat an apple (provided it hasnt been sprayed!!).
Once in a while I would have a macdonalds but suffer from it days after from whatever chemicals are in there causing stomach gas and belching.

I read the first article. The English version say 120milligram formaldehyde is not dangerous! If the air contains 120milligrams you would leave the place immediately! The German version has the correct numbers 120 micrograms per cubic meter. This level is considered save. A factor 1000 who cares!
People normally can smell concentrations of 1mg/m3. At that level they also get throat, nose irritations.
If you can't open the window to vent that stuff out you should refuse to work there.

Today, I was just reading this interesting article from Newsweek about food additives.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/123060?GT1=43002

Yes good to know now...if I had questioned it back then but instead did not want to be making a fuss...you don't want to make too many comments about the air and feeling claustrophobic at work for fear of loosing a job. The health insurance agencies still see breathing problems as a psychological problem ...maybe I need to change my health insurance agency too. I guess the operative word here too is "fear" a vicious circle really...living and learning.

I would suggest if you are interested in learning more about the issue of chemical load, you google and read the recent studies that are being done to evaluate the number of chemicals present in breast milk.

In a broad stroke, the problem is, for example, we are finding hundreds of chemicals in breast milk, many with suspected or known carcinogenic properties. The problem is for the vast majority, the "level" at which a chemical is considered "safe" or "acceptable" or "unsafe"...has not been determined for adults, let alone infants.

A class of chemicals, very much in the headlines recently are fire retardants, which are now one of the most common chemicals found in breast milk. The U.K. requires fire retandants on almost everything.

Another chemical in the hotseat and being actively investigated as we speak is "BPA" or Bisphosphonal A, a "plasticizer" that is suspected of causing hormonal disruptions. This is potentially especially worrisome for boys. If you eat canned food or use clear, hard polycarbonate plastic (#7 recycling symbol) for example many baby bottles, then you are being exposed to BPA.

Lastly I will say most would probably be surprised to know the numbers of unregulated chemicals they are being exposed to through their beauty and make-up products (shampoos, soaps, perfume, etc) In the U.S. these products are not under regulation and the E.U. is only slightly better. Two chemicals, of many, under scruitiny right now are pthalates and parabens

Two sites I highly recommend to learn more about these issues are...the Environmental Working Group and Not Too Pretty (which looks at chemicals in beauty products)

http://www.ewg.org/

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/splash.php?URI=%2Findex.php

What does health insurance has to do with it?
At work you are insured by a Berufsgenossenschaft.
If they are asked they will measure noise, chemicals etc. and tell you (your boss of course) whether your working environment is acceptable. If you should get a chronic desease from chemicals you have been exposed to at work (and you can proove it) the Berufsgenossenschaft will pay for it.

Thank you for the info on the Berufsgenossenschaft.
Our company does not have a works counsel therefore information is not so freely available so the employer/middle management can do what they want if it means saving the company money by buying inferior products when it only concerns support staff and continue to do so until an employee says something out against it. And that might be too late...

Hi Gemini, yes very interesting comments.

I am beginning to realise that chemical poisoning is in almost all the products we are using today. I guess the test would be; if it smells too strong to you, then don't use it. Perhaps some people have extra sensitive smell and can be suffocated by such strong smells as I do...
Wearing gloves while doing house work is a must now so as not to come into contact with some of the chemicals in the cleaning products. I am using a lot of less aggressive (Ecover) cleaning products but now it seems it is s necessary to check out the shower gel and bath foam...and also what is in the fridge. I only buy natural bio yoghurt and two days after the sell by date was up I discovered bright pink spots on the top of the yoghurt when I opened the tub.

I'd go one step further, just to be safe.

If it smells too strong to you, then don't use it.
If it tastes too strong to you, then don't use it.
If it looks too strong to you, then don't use it.

You just don't know what you're putting into your body these days.
http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html

You have been warned. Be safe.

There are many "homemade" cleaning products listed online, using such things as lemons, baking soda, vinegar, that will clean up your messes fine and avoid chemical exposure. Though switching to less toxic formulations are definately a better choice.

Beware though...as corporations know that "green" is selling, they are tyring to "greenwash" there products to increase sales. There are great green sites with great advice...such as those I listed...which can help steer people in the right direction.

That said, no need to be a clean freak, as an overly clean (as in using bacteriacidal cleaners) homes are linked with higher levels of allergies and asthma. The least affected group as I remember it are people who live in rural settings with pets.

The list of items not to use gets longer...is there a list of items available which are safe to use and also foods which are without chemicals and healthy to eat availble?

I buy the bulk of my groceries online in a bio market which are delivered to the door.
Is there such a service with chemical free products which can be recommended?

How come your colleagues at work did not suffer too? I guess they would be subjected to it the same as you...