Nothing's sacred
That’s not good. But many of these fast-food and fast-casual restaurants have announced plans to ban the “forever chemicals” and for some — Taco Bell, Wendy’s, Sweetgreen and others — it seems to be working.
In total 35% of 81 pieces of fast-food packaging showed detectable levels of
organic fluorine, an indicator of the group of chemicals known as PFAS,
according to a new report from Mamavation.
Partnering with EHN.org, the environmental wellness blog and community had the packaging tested by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-certified lab and found levels of organic fluorine ranging from 10 parts per million (ppm) to 469 ppm.
Organic fluorine is a strong indicator of per- and
polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS or “forever chemicals”— which
have been linked to everything from cancer to birth defects to lower vaccine
effectiveness.
EHN.org partially funded the testing and Pete Myers, chief scientist of Environmental Health Sciences, which publishes Environmental Health News, reviewed the findings.
The report builds on previous fast-food packaging testing and
EHN.org and Mamavation’s growing library of
consumer products tested for evidence of PFAS, including products such as contact lenses, pasta and tomato sauces, sports bras, tampons, dental floss, electrolytes and butter wrappers.
It also comes on the heels of an EHN.org
investigation, What we know about PFAS in our
food, that found due to inadequate testing and a lack of
regulation, we’re all eating PFAS.
Linda S. Birnbaum, scientist emeritus and former director
of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and National
Toxicology Program and scholar at residence at Duke University, told Mamavation
that fast-food packaging remains one of the main ways people are exposed to
PFAS. She pointed to the patchwork of PFAS legislation happening
at the state level as inadequate to fully protect consumers.
“We support states that pass legislation to curtail these
problems, but we worry that brands may have just moved their more toxic
packaging to other states that allow it,” Birnbaum said. “So the next step here
to protect consumers would be federal legislation banning PFAS in food
packaging so that all states comply. This is essential to protect the public.”
PFAS: from packaging into our food
PFAS have previously been found in food packaging such
as pizza boxes, sandwich wrappers, French fry
containers and popcorn bags. The chemicals are excellent
at resisting grease and stains. They are either added intentionally into food
packaging — or can contaminate the packaging unintentionally.
But they can migrate from packaging into food. People who
eat more takeout, fast-food and pizza often have higher levels of PFAS in their
bodies than people who regularly cook at home, according to a 2019 study.
“When we buy food for our families—our spouse, our
children, and our grandchildren—we should not have to worry about forever PFAS
chemicals. This is especially true of little ones,” Terrence Collins, Teresa
Heinz professor of green chemistry & director of the Institute for Green
Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University, told Mamavation.
Fast-food PFAS bans
Many fast-food restaurants — including Burger King, Tim
Horton’s, Popeyes, Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, McDonald’s, Panera, Sweetgreen, Taco
Bell and Wendy’s — have committed to phasing out PFAS in their packaging.
Mamavation tested some packaging from all of these
restaurants and did not detect evidence of PFAS in Taco Bell or Wendy’s
wrappers.
In addition, Sweetgreen announced in March 2020 they would get rid of PFAS in their molded fiber bowls, however, Mamavation found PFAS in the bowls in late 2022. A few months after Mamavation let them know of the concerning results, they announced nationwide changes to the bowls. And this testing round? No detected organic fluorine.
What fast-food restaurants have PFAS-free
packaging?
Mamavation did not detect evidence of PFAS in packaging
from 18 fast-food restaurants, including some popular companies like Arby’s,
In-n-Out Burger, Subway, Little Caesars, Dunkin Donuts and others.
To see the full list of brands test — and which ones were
contaminated — please see the new report at Mamavation.
The testing is part of an ongoing effort by Mamavation
and EHN.org to identify PFAS in common consumer products. Follow our PFAS
testing project with Mamavation at the series landing page.
Want to know more about PFAS? Check out our comprehensive guide.
