There must be sufficient scientific information to demonstrate that the use of a substance in food contact materials is safe under the intended conditions of use before it is authorized for those uses. This includes the use of some phthalates in food packaging. The FDA regulates all substances in food contact materials that are reasonably expected to migrate into food based on their intended use. Generally, your dry mix should last 6 months past its best-by date. Dry mix mac and cheese come with a best-by date which informs you about how long its quality will last. How long your mac and cheese last, depends on how sensitive your ingredients are. it does taste AMAZING, but for optimal results, make it, bake it, and eat it. If you have cooked your mac and cheese, the leftovers should last 3-5 days in the fridge. The expiration dates on most shelf-stable food has at least a years buffer, and thats for quality purposes, not safety. This extra creamy, classic, cheesy recipe for THE Mac and Cheese has been. The substances in food contact materials may migrate at low levels when the materials come into contact with food. Having volunteered at a major metropolitan food bank, I can tell you with great confidence that it is absolutely safe to eat if the package is still sealed.
I reached out to the FDA for comment, but the response from press officer Megan McSeveney didn’t directly address boxed mac and cheese. But because exposures are so frequent and common, some level or body burden of the phthalate family of chemicals can regularly be detected. Unlike some chemicals, like dioxin, lead, or mercury, that tend to persist and build up in various tissues, phthalates are generally not persistent, though under some circumstances, phthalates do tend to accumulate in certain organs.
