Many of the products we use in our daily lives use formaldehyde as one of their essential building blocks during the manufacturing process. However, you can be forgiven for not knowing much about it as little, if any, formaldehyde ends up in the final product. Let’s discuss the uses and benefits of formaldehyde and its applications.
What Is Formaldehyde?
Formaldehyde is a chemical found in all life forms, from bacteria and plants to animals and humans. We naturally produce formaldehyde as part of cell metabolism. Cell metabolism is the process of synthesizing new molecules like enzymes and breaking down older cells for removal. The formaldehyde that we naturally produce has also broken down from our metabolic process during this time. As an essential building block within organisms, so too we have applied it in a wide variety of industries.
Industries That Use Formaldehyde
From construction and automobiles to health care and food manufacturing, formaldehyde manufacturers are always in demand. Within construction, formaldehyde is used to manufacture composite and engineered wood products that are used for furniture, shelving, cabinetry, floors, walls, support beams, and more. Extending to automobiles, formaldehyde has helped cars become more lightweight and energy efficient by improving interior molds and components that need to withstand high temperatures but aren’t as heavy as other alternatives.
In regard to health care and food, formaldehyde is a key component of vaccines as it suspends the trace sample of a virus within the vaccine. This suspension prevents the virus from activating and getting us sick but allows our immune system to fight and become familiar with it so that our immune systems become stronger against it. Similarly, while it can’t suspend food, the same uses and benefits of formaldehyde are applied to lengthen the shelf life of food and cut back on the amount of waste accrued from food simply going bad.
Formaldehyde Safety Information
We recognize that talk of chemicals like formaldehyde can be off-putting or intimidating to some—especially with misinformation confusing the matter. As we mentioned, formaldehyde is an entirely naturally occurring chemical within all organic life and will not pose a threat to your health. In fact, formaldehyde is incapable of building up within the body because we naturally break it down so quickly.
