Shipping and technology company Amazon sprays its boxes with chemicals that have been shown to cause chemical burns in some pets. As billions of holiday packages made their way around the world during the 2020 holiday season, a post shared to social media in late December claimed that packages distributed by Amazon were sprayed with chemicals that may be harmful to pets.
A Facebook post claims that all Amazon boxes are sprayed with toxic pesticides to kill rodents that can cause chemical burns on the tongues of cats, as well as a number of other potential symptoms including fever, lethargy and shallow breathing. The post includes a photo of what appears to be a cat’s tongue with swollen red marks.
Another popular query is “Are amazon boxes toxic?”.
The main concern with Amazon shipping boxes is the black ink that makes up the logo. Twenty years ago, this would have been printed with a petroleum-based ink, which is toxic when it is printed over such a large area.
Snopes also reported that Amazon “could not rule out the possibility that Amazon boxes could be cross-contaminated by chemicals from other sources, such as disinfectants used to clean out airplane holds or rodenticides used at various warehouse storage facilities around the world.”.
Are cardboard boxes toxic to pets?
A box industry spokesman said they know of no shippers who spray cardboard boxes with chemicals harmful to pets. A chemist who studied potential risks of cardboard to pets said there is no danger.
Do amazon boxes have pesticides?
Amazon does not spray boxes with any pesticide or disinfectant, Richard Rocha, the company’s senior public relations manager, told USA TODAY. He said corrugated boxes are made of wood pulp and wood pulp binders, in line with the materials used by other box manufacturers.
Are ‘toxic pesticides’ sprayed in pet boxes?
A Dec. 27 Facebook post shared by the New York-based charity Uptown Cat Rescue warned pet owners that “ALL” boxes are sprayed with “toxic pesticides to kill wearouse [sic] rodents! ” Allegations involving packaging materials and pet illnesses around the holiday season are rare, but have surfaced before this one.
Is Amazon spraying boxes with pesticides?
Amazon does not spray their boxes with pesticides or other chemicals. This is a false story that spread on social networks but was not found to be factually accurate. There have been recent claims which seem to have started on Facebook, that Amazon is spraying boxes with chemicals or pesticides.
Another inquiry we ran across in our research was “Does Amazon spray its packaging with toxic pesticides?”.
Amazon says it doesn’t spray its packaging with toxic pesticides and that its boxes are no different than most other card packaging.