A new study showed that chemicals used in food packaging can break down into dangerous toxins which can end up in our food and atmosphere.
Because of the risks posed by certain kinds of PFAS chemicals like PFOA and PFOS in materials that come into contact with food, many companies have switched to using a different kind of PFAS chemical. These new polymeric PFAS are bigger molecules that make it harder for them to leak out of products. They’re thought to be safer because they don’t mix in as easily with water or grease.
This new research shows us that the polymeric PFAS chemicals used in food packaging can break down into smaller pieces. These smaller pieces can still be dangerous and could make their way into our food and the environment.
Marta Venier, a professor at Indiana University and co-author of the study, said that polymers are not as harmless as the PFAS industry wanted them to be. She said that if these polymers were used for food packaging, then it can lead to our food, air, and water being contaminated with harmful PFAS substances that do not go away easily
Researchers collected 42 wrappers and bowls from fast-food restaurants in Toronto and tested them. They found that the most common chemical was 6:2 FTOH, which is known to be very dangerous. This can get into people’s bodies through polymeric PFAS found in these food containers.
Researchers found that chemicals in fast-food packaging dropped by 85% after being stored for two years without changing temperature or exposure to light. It looks like the chemical was breaking apart, which shows that it can move around and create risk. This is different from what some people have said before, which is that this chemical cannot move and provide risks.
Some various tiny molecules that have been labeled as PFAS (Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) have been linked to a lot of dangerous health problems – from cancer, to being overweight, and even issues with COVID-19. They contaminate the water people drink in a lot of places. Only a small portion of the PFAS molecules were checked to see how toxic they are, plus they stay around forever if they don’t break down into more hazardous PFAS.
Eleven states in the USA have made it against the law to use PFAS (a type of chemical) in most food wrappers and containers. Mcdonald’s and Chick-fil-A also promised not to use PFAS by 2025.
The Green Science Policy Institute’s director, Arlene Blum said that recently, many polymers found in fast-food packaging have been stopped from being used. But this study shows that these polymeric PFAS (a type of chemical) are still not safe for a lot of things. To keep people, including kids safe from the dangers of these chemicals, it is really important to get rid off them completely and as soon as possible -from food containers to rain jackets – all kinds of uses!
A group of researchers recently wrote an article called “Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Canadian Fast Food Packaging” for a journal called Environmental Science & Technology Letters. The article was published on March 28, 2023. Its purpose is to provide information about substances found in fast food packaging in Canada that could be dangerous to humans.
This study was sponsored by Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Great Lakes Protection Initiative, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Green Science Policy Institute, and the European Union through their Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme.
