Consumer Reports investigates potentially dangerous chemicals in fast food packaging

Scientists have found potentially dangerous chemicals on common food wrappers. Consumer reports Investigated what is in some fast food packaging. Scientists are hard at work, testing over a 100 food packaging products for so-called forever chemicals or PFAS from popular retailers and what they found is concerning. “We found PFAS in many types of packaging. In packaging from fast food restaurants and from grocery stores. We even found it in packaging from places that say they’re moving away from PFAS,” said Kevin Loria, Consumer Reports health editor. PFAS, also known as, forever chemicals, because, in general, they don’t break down in landfills, have been linked to serious health problems such as increased risk for some cancers, lowered immunity, and liver damage.So if PFAS is in food packaging, is it also in the food? “PFAS can migrate from packaging into food you eat, like that burger wrapped in paper that contains PFAS, or that salad in a molded fiber bowl,” Loria said.Research even suggests that people who eat out regularly may indeed have higher PFAS levels in their blood. Paper bags, molded fiber bowls, and single-use plates had the highest PFAS levels on average from all the food packaging tested. While take-out containers and paper trays had some of the lowest.In response to CR, some companies stressed that with PFAS so common in the environment, it’s nearly impossible to eliminate them entirely. Several are also in the process of redoing their packaging to phase out PFAS.“Still, more than half of the products we tested had low PFAS levels, so it’s clearly possible for companies to reach lower levels,” Loria said.In the meantime, Consumer Reports recommends you transfer your take-out food out of its packaging when you can and that you do not reheat your food in its packaging.