The gesture is often mechanical: when opening your yogurt, many of you lick the excess cream from the lid. According to a Swiss survey, 62% of us would not miss a beat (and give a quick lick) and only 13% would never do so. But is it “safe” to lick this piece of plastic or aluminum?
Is licking aluminum really reasonable?
From a regulatory perspective, nothing crazy needs to be declared. Yogurt lids (plastic or aluminum) are designed in accordance with Regulation (EU) No. 10/2011, limiting the migration of substances into food. Since contact with the tongue is brief, experts estimate the exposure to be significantly lower than that linked to food remaining in contact with the cover for a long time.
Questioned by the 20 Minutes Switzerland in 2022, Steffi Schluechter, nutritionist at the Swiss Nutrition Society, also recalled that “Most of the aluminum we absorb is eliminated through the kidneys.” and that no adverse effects were observed under common feeding conditions. ANSES confirms that only cases of high chronic exposure have led to neurological or bone problems. Nothing to do with this gourmet parenthesis.
(Low) risks that you don’t think about
On the other hand, the reflex repeated on a daily basis can expose you to other (slight) risks. Apart from aluminum for example, it is likely that you will ingest, for example… glue, used to stick the layers of your yogurt pot. This is also the case for certain additives contained in films — substances that are best avoided, even in small quantities.
Finally, there remains a mechanical risk that is a little more accidental, shall we say. By licking the cover in a hurry, you sometimes risk a cut on the tongue, the film being relatively thin. A small, sometimes painful injury that reminds us that greed and prudence do not always go well together.