Toxic chemicals were discovered in Sweetgreen and McDonald's food packaging, and specialists claim that "these chemicals travel into the food you eat."
In a research published on Thursday by Consumer Reports, PFAS, or "forever chemicals," were detected in fast food wrappers and containers from eight different restaurant chains.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds, or PFAS, are known for their long-term effects. Chemicals do not degrade naturally in the environment, and they can accumulate in the body over time.
Long-term PFAS exposure has been associated with an increased risk of some malignancies, immune system suppression, and developmental issues in fetuses.
Several states have passed legislation prohibiting or restricting the use of PFAS in food packaging, but the chemicals are so widely used that they may find their way into food unintentionally.
Almost everyone in the United States who has been tested for PFAS has some level of the substances in their blood. Food, water, and consumer products are all common sources of PFAS exposure, according to recent studies.
The most recent investigation by Consumer Reports focuses on PFAS in food packaging.
According to an analysis published in the journal Food in 2021, the chemicals are routinely employed to make paper or cardboard grease-resistant, and fatty, salty foods are more prone to absorb PFAS from their wrapping.
The materials were tested for fluorine, a common indicator of PFAS because there are thousands of known compounds in the PFAS class.
Although there is no national standard for fluorine in foods or food packaging, some states have begun to regulate PFAS using the indication.
California has set a restriction of 100 parts per million for organic fluorine in all food packaging, which will take effect on January 1, 2023.
Eight of the 24 fast food and grocery brands studied by Consumer Reports had at least one type of packaging evaluated for fluorine levels surpassing 100 ppm: Arby's, Burger King, Cava, Chick-fil-A, McDonald's, Nathan's Famous, Sweetgreen, and Taco Bell.
Grease-resistant paper bags used for chips, cookies, and fries were a typical source of contamination at many different restaurants. Nearly every chain where the bags were sold had them tested for hundreds of parts per million of fluorine.
Although not all of the materials examined contained measurable levels of fluorine, every restaurant investigated had at least one piece of packaging that tested positive for the compound, indicating that PFAS is widely present.
Several restaurants and retail businesses cited in the research informed Consumer Reports that eliminating all residues of PFAS from packaging would be nearly difficult. In recent years, many companies have pledged to gradually phase PFAS out of their food packaging.
However, at the time of Consumer Reports' testing, some of the restaurants' packaging still showed signs of the chemical.
Cava, Chipotle, Freshii, Panera Bread, Sweetgreen, and Wendy's have all stated that PFAS will be removed from some or all of their packaging by the end of 2021; McDonald's and Taco Bell have stated that the chemicals will be removed from "consumer-facing packaging" by 2025.
