Should I worry about the harmful effects of plastics packaging?

Question:
I recently read reports on harmful effects of plastics in the national press about synthetic chemicals used in plastics manufacture that can apparently leak into items and mimic oestrogen.

My Whippets' food comes in a sealed plastics wrap and I am concerned about any effect it could have on their health, especially the young male.

Has any research been done on pet food packaging ? I know it is easy to get neurotic, but the whole business of chemicals is worrying.
 Ruth Pritchard, Dorset.

Answer:
I don't think that there has been any such research into this, but it would seem that plastics can have an effect on the health of those who come into contact with them. It may be that foods packed in tins or paper, or which are dry and less absorbent, are safer.

However, I would like to reassure you that the incidence of hormone-related disease in dogs does not appear to have changed significantly over the past few years, and it may be that any cumulative effects of such chemicals will only be seen in animals that live longer than our domestic pets, or that, like fish, are in more continuous contact with such chemicals.

_{source Your Dog Mag.}