New Delhi: Aluminum foil is a staple in almost every Indian kitchen for packing rotis or baking vegetables. However, a recent study reveals that cooking or baking food wrapped in aluminum foil can cause the metal to leach into your meal, potentially raising serious health concerns.
The research, titled Risk Assessment of Using Aluminum Foil in Food Preparation, was published in the International Journal of Electrochemical Science. Chemical engineers from the UAE and Egypt conducted the laboratory study to measure how much aluminum transfers into daily meals. They prepared a meat sauce using tomatoes, citric acid, vinegar, and various spices, and then boiled it in direct contact with the foil.
The results showed a noticeable drop in the foil weight, confirming that the metal had dissolved into the acidic food. When mild tomato and citric acid were used, the aluminum level reaching the food ranged from 22.8 to 75.4 milligrams per serving. Increasing the citric acid pushed this figure up to 132 milligrams. The highest leaching occurred with vinegar, delivering a massive 465 milligrams of aluminum per person.
Researchers noted that acidic ingredients, salt, and high cooking temperatures accelerate this chemical reaction. For instance, adding tomato juice dropped the food pH from 6.9 to 4.9, increasing metal breakdown. Similarly, baking the sauce wrapped in foil in an oven for 90 minutes resulted in approximately 361 milligrams of aluminum seeping into the food.
Health experts state that a safe weekly intake of aluminum for an adult is just 2 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. This means a person weighing 68 kilograms has a weekly limit of 136 milligrams. While the human body naturally filters out excess aluminum, regular consumption beyond safe limits can be harmful over time.
Medical professionals advise extreme caution for patients with chronic kidney disease, individuals undergoing dialysis, and infants, as they are highly sensitive to metal toxicity. Since the current study was conducted entirely in a laboratory setting without clinical trials, complete panic is unnecessary. Experts suggest simple alternatives like using butter paper as a barrier, letting hot chapatis cool slightly before packing, and avoiding the regular cooking of acidic foods directly in foil.