The following are extracts from an article in The Guardian.  The full
article is at:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/science/story/0,12996,1493573,00.html
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Scientists in America have found the first evidence that common chemicals
used in products as diverse as cosmetics, toys, clingfilm and plastic bags
may harm the development of unborn baby boys.

Researchers have long known that high levels of substances called
phthalates have gender-bending effects on male animals, making them more
feminine and leading to poor sperm quality and infertility. The new study
suggests that even normal levels of phthalates, which are ubiquitous, can
disrupt the development of male babies' reproductive organs.

...Several types of phthalates, which are used to make plastics more
pliable, and have been around for more than 50 years, have been banned,
but many are still produced in vast quantities.

...Tests showed that women with higher levels of four different phthalates
were more likely to have baby boys with a range of conditions, from
smaller penises and undescended testicles to a shorter perineum, the
distance between the genitals and the anus. The differences, say the
authors, indicate a feminisation of the boys similar to that seen in
animals exposed to the chemicals.

... One way that phthalates get into the bloodstream is when they seep
into food from plastic packaging.

Andreas Kortenkamp, an expert in environmental pollutants at the School of
Pharmacy in London, said: "If it's true, it's sensational. This is the
first time anyone's shown this effect in humans. It's an indicator that
something's gone seriously wrong with development in the womb and that's
why it's so serious. These are mass chemicals. They are used in any
plastic that is pliable, whether it's clingfilm, kidney dialysis tubes,
blood bags or toys. Sorting this out is going to be an interesting
challenge for industry as well as society."

....Gwynne Lyons, toxics adviser to the WWF, said: "...Right now the
government is looking at how the regulation of hormone disrupting
chemicals could be made more effective under new EU chemicals law, but the
chemicals industry is lobbying very hard to water down this legislation.
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This may appear off-topic, but if you reflect for a moment, you will see
that many of the "Palaeo" foods we purchase at the supermarket and store
at home in Tuppaware containers will pick up a VERY un-Palaeo phthalate
load on the way into our bodies.  There is little point in fretting
whether tomatoes are palaeo when even grass-fed meat and game meat may be
polluted with phthalates.  If this report is correct, it looks as if we
can say that ANY meat wrapped in clingfilm is, by that very fact, not
palaeo.

Keith