Contamination of food with newspaper ink: An evidence-informed decision making (EIDM) case study of homemade dessert

In this evidence-informed decision making case study report, the authors discuss three public health concerns: (1) home food preparation businesses, (2) right of entry into a private residence, and (3) food contamination by newspaper ink including chronic health effects related to other trace toxins exposure. Home food preparation businesses have proliferated throughout Ontario following the prevalence of Internet access. Private residences are increasingly used for the preparation of food for public consumption, offering a full array of products, and extending in scope to encompass a broad range of commercial catering businesses. The major concerns for Public Health are a lack of food safety knowledge and inadequate facilities to protect food from contamination and adulteration at these home-based businesses. Legal restrictions limit Public Health Inspectors’ access to a private residence, regardless of the known or anticipated health concerns. In this particular case, food was prepared in the garage of a single-family home and then delivered by truck to commercial units in a strip plaza for further processing. In this case, chemical contamination of food from the use of recycled newspaper to drain excess cooking oil from fried donuts raised serious health concerns. Researchers report that newspaper ink contains ingredients such as Naphthylamine, amoratic hydrocarbons, and other aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonists that have multiple negative health effects.