Can fast-food packaging like burrito, burger and pastry
wrappers, along with pizza and French fry boxes, really increase your cancer
risk? A certain family of chemicals helps keeping grease from dripping through
the fast-food packaging and onto your hands and clothes. But as it turns out,
about a third of the fast-food containers tested contain grease-repelling
coatings made of perfluorinated chemicals, according to a 2017 study and
accompanying report.
These chemical compounds, also known as PFCs and PFASs,
are linked to cancer, developmental issues, reproductive damage,
compromised immune system function and other health problems. The persistent
chemicals readily migrate from the wrappers and boxes and into your food. In
fact, the heat and grease of the food actually encourages the leaching.
Perfluorochemicals (PFCs) are...
...a family of manmade chemicals that have been used for
decades as an ingredient to make products that resist heat, oil, stains, grease
and water and are extremely resistant to breakdown in the environment.
Common uses of PFCs include: 1) nonstick cookware,
stain-resistant carpets and fabrics, 2) coatings on some food packaging
(especially microwave popcorn bags and fast food wrappers), 3) as components of
fire-fighting foam, and 4) many industrial applications.
Yes, it is true that some PFCs,
including those used to make Teflon pans and 3M’s Scotchgard, have been banned or phased out as
hazardous. But there’s another issue. Chemical companies quickly pivoted and
flooded the market with new-generation PFCs that haven’t been property tested.
In fact, they may be just as toxic as their chemical cousins. (1)
This kind of reminds me of BPA toxic effects.
The the science concluded BPA to be blatantly toxic, companies started
manufacturing a related compound know as bisphenol S, or BPA. Turns out, it’s
just as hormonally active and toxic, or possibly even more toxic, than the
chemical it aimed to replace. (2)
The kicker in all of this? The nonstick, grease-proofing PFC
chemicals are completely unnecessary. PFC-free wrappers, paperboard and boxes
are readily available in the fast-food container market.
“We don’t know enough about the safety of the new generation of
PFCs. We know there are dangers of exposure to some of these chemicals at
extremely low doses, especially during critical windows of child development. A
woman who eats fast food frequently during her pregnancy might consume enough
of these chemicals to affect the future health of her child.” — Bill
Walker, Environmental Working Group managing editor and co-author of the report
According to the report, DuPont acknowledges that one of
these replacement chemicals actually does cause cancerous tumors in lab animals.
“These molecules are very long-lived in the environment, and
simply don’t break down easily and go away.Consumer products like papers that
are treated with PFAS will decompose long before the treatment does and these
chemicals will enter the environment directly from our landfills. This type of
long-lived chemical just isn’t a sustainable practice: once it is made, it
doesn’t go away.” — Graham Peaslee, University of Notre Dame physicist
Clearly, most of us already know that ultra-processed fast foods are unhealthy. They’re often full of dangerous inflammatory
oils, factory farmed meats and pesticide-laden potatoes. The fact that about a
third of fast-food packaging is coated with toxic chemicals is just another
reason to avoid the drive-thru.
Details of the Chemicals in Fast-Food Packaging Study
The 2017 study
appeared in Environmental Science & Technology Letters,
researchers tested fast food packaging samples collected form 2014 to
2015. The paperboard, sandwich and burger wrapper and dessert and bread
wrapper samples came from stores in the Boston, San Francisco,
Seattle, Washington, D.C. and Grand Rapids areas. (3)
Here’s where it
gets a bit complicated. Not all branches within a particular fast-food
brand purchase fast-food packaging from the same source. It’s often
regional, meaning one McDonald’s could source PFC-coated packaging in one
region, and in another part of the country, the packaging comes from a PFC-free
source. And then there’s this: Some fast-food packaging may not contain added
PFC grease-proofing chemicals, but the recycled paper source
could contaminated with the nonstick chemicals.
Here’s the evidence
researchers uncovered during testing:
How to Avoid Toxic Nonstick
Chemicals in the Food Supply
It’s virtually impossible to completely avoid toxic nonstick PFC
chemicals. They’re ubiquitous in the environment — and inside most of us.
Until our country’s antiquated chemical safety laws are updated to better
protect us, it’ll be impossible to avoid these chemicals.
For instance, the Food and Drug Administration should close the
loophole that allows companies to self-certify chemicals as Generally
Recognized as Safe. In the meantime, you can still drastically lower your
exposure of PFCs on a personal level by:
·
Eat fresh meals you prep as home as
much as possible.
·
Avoiding paper tableware. (It’s often
coated in these grease-proofing chemicals.)
·
Steer clear of microwave popcorn. The
bags are often coated with PFCs. Just make it the old-fashioned way on the
stovetop.
·
Avoid nonstick dental floss, like
Oral-B Glide.
It’s Not Just Fast-Food
Packaging: Other Fast-Food Threats
The fast-food containers study comes on the heels of other
concerning news about fast food. And antibiotics in
fast food report found only 2 of the top 25
chains get an “A” for policies of antibiotics in food.
I also created this list of 10 chain restaurants you should never eat at. I based it mainly on gluten- and GMO-packed ingredients,
excess calories and farmed fish, in addition to the antibiotic issue. (Here are
the best fast casual restaurants, although I can’t
guarantee that all of these companies source safer fast-food packaging.)
Case-in-point: Cook your own food from scratch as much as possible, since we
have such little control over fast-food packaging threats.
Final Thoughts on Fast-Food
Packaging
·
Certain perfluorinated chemicals
(PFCs) are still detected in fast-food containers.
·
PFCs are used to “grease-proof”
containers, but the chemicals readily migrate into hot, greasy foods.
·
PFCs are linked to cancer, abnormal
development in children, thyroid and cholesterol problems and immune system
disfunction, among other things.
·
Some older PFCs have been banned, but
hundreds of replacements have not been
- adequately
tested for long-term impact on human health.
- PFC-free
fast-food packaging is readily available.
- These
chemicals also hide out in many paper plates and bowls, nonstick floss,
nonstick pots and pans and microwave popcorn bags.
No comments:
Post a Comment