That viral black plastic kitchen utensil study was overblown thanks to a simple math mistake.
Remember the viral study claiming black plastic kitchen utensils leach toxic chemicals? Turns out, it was a mathematical miscalculation.
The original study concluded black utensils release over 200,000 times more antimony, a toxic metal, than non-black ones. However, a re-analysis found that a decimal error made the results seem far more alarming than they were.
The corrected math shows black utensils release antimony at levels not deemed harmful by FDA standards. While antimony is indeed toxic in high doses, the actual exposure from black plastic utensils is negligible.
The mix-up highlights the importance of accuracy in scientific reporting and how small errors can lead to inflated claims.