Comment by cjflog

laboratory.love — independent lab testing of everyday food products for plastic chemicals (phthalates + bisphenols), with all results published publicly. I got nerd-sniped by PlasticList and wanted this kind of testing to keep happening.

It works as a direct service (pay money -> get published results in a couple weeks) and a crowdfunding model (nominate a product and chip in toward its testing goal). If a crowdfunded product doesn't hit its target within a year, contributions are automatically refunded.

Once funded, we buy three samples anonymously through normal retail across different production lots, and an ISO 17025-accredited lab runs GC-MS with isotope dilution. These chemicals are known or suspected endocrine disruptors, companies aren't required to disclose them, and the science is moving fast — the EU cut its "safe" BPA limit by 20,000x in 2023.

I'm also looking at a consumption-weighted model that suggests testing just ~100 high-volume grocery SKUs would cover roughly 40% of the packaged food Americans eat, by mass. That's an absurd amount of public-health leverage for a few hundred thousand dollars, and I'm working out how to fund it as a proper campaign.