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Medicine

Dangerous Chemicals In Food Wrappers At Fast-Food Restaurants, Grocery Chains (cnn.com) 95

fahrbot-bot shares a report from CNN: Alarming levels of dangerous chemicals known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) were discovered in food packaging at a number of well-known fast-food and fast-casual restaurants and grocery store chains, a new report found. The highest levels of indicators for PFAS were found in food packaging from Nathan's Famous, Cava, Arby's, Burger King, Chick-fil-A, Stop & Shop, Sweetgreen, McDonald's and Taco Bell according to an investigation released Thursday by Consumer Reports.

The Consumer Reports investigation collected 118 food packaging products sold by 24 companies in the tristate area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. It tested those products for organic fluorine -- a marker for PFAS. Researchers then sent samples of products with the highest levels to an independent laboratory that could perform more specific tests, said Michael Hansen, senior staff scientist for advocacy at Consumer Reports. Regulatory limits for how much PFAS food packaging should contain can vary greatly. In the US, there are no federal limits, leaving action up to the states. Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, New York, Vermont and Washington have passed bills banning intentional use of PFAS in food packaging, but haven't yet specified a limit, according to Consumer Reports. In January 2023, a new law in California will set the limit at less than 100 ppm (parts per million).

The Consumer Reports investigation found the highest indicators for PFAS -- 876 ppm and 618 ppm -- in two types of bags for sides at Nathan's Famous restaurants. High indicators of PFAS (in the 500s) were also found in a Chick-fil-A sandwich wrapper and in fiber bowls at Cava, a Mediterranean restaurant chain. Indicator levels in the 300s and 400s were found in a bag of cookies at Arby's, bamboo paper plates at Stop & Shop, and in a bag for both cookies and French toast sticks at Burger King. Levels of PFAS indicators in the 200s were found in a Sweetgreen paper bag for focaccia, additional items at Cava, and in bags for french fries, cookies and Chicken McNuggets at McDonald's. However, all of the companies listed had additional food packaging that tested at levels below 200 ppm. Four companies -- Arby's, Nathan's Famous, McDonald's and Stop & Shop -- also sold food in packaging that had no detectable levels of PFAS, the report said.

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Dangerous Chemicals In Food Wrappers At Fast-Food Restaurants, Grocery Chains

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  • It's just 's just swarm wars as imported from EU:\ "Rise of the new Order within EU - (Slovenia): poisons, allergies and contagions on public areas" https://www.reddit.com/r/consp... [reddit.com] "Rise of the new Order within EU - (Slovenia): chronic wide range, low dose food poisoning, "special batches", methods and crews..." https://www.reddit.com/r/consp... [reddit.com] "Goyi Go in EU ( history and current playground" https://www.reddit.com/r/consp... [reddit.com] Most of attacks are done as "million cuts" by human swarms under a cover of pl
  • You know your food production is circling the drain when you're down to arguing what is more dangerous; the shit food, or the shit wrapper.

    Everyone who's gonna blow their nest egg on medical costs say it with me now...Spank You, Helpy Helperton.

    • Don't forget the shit receipt. Yes, really. The thermal transfer paper has a shitload of BPA in it, and grease absorbs it. So you get grease on your fingers, touch the receipt which is often attached to the bag, touch the food, put the food in your mouth...

    • You know your food production is circling the drain when you're down to arguing what is more dangerous; the shit food, or the shit wrapper.

      Everyone who's gonna blow their nest egg on medical costs say it with me now...Spank You, Helpy Helperton.

      Lawyers need something to sue over, so beat the drum in articles. Congress denied lawsuits over fatty, salty foods in restaurants (the Constitution gives Congress the power to set domains of the courts), which lawyers were turning to do after wrapping up hundreds of billions in tobacco settlements.

      Thank god, or we'd have some combo of flavorless foods and giant disclaimers to sign before being seated, just so asshole over there can have a yacht.

  • The highest levels of indicators for PFAS were found in food packaging from ...

    Don't eat the wrappers!

    • Unfortunately it seems that lots of these toxics like PFAS and BPA are readily absorbed in fat, and this is all fatty food literally coated in grease. So when the greasy food spends time in the toxic bag, it's absorbing the toxics. It happens a lot faster for stuff that's not frozen, but it's still a factor with frozen foods as well. The chemicals in plastic that give it its special properties come out over time, which is why they lose those properties, and it happens fastest when they are newest...

    • by suss ( 158993 )

      Some people will eat anything, if you just put bbq sauce on it. Also, the PFAS and grease ease defecation, and get rid of that pesky stomach lining.

    • by fermion ( 181285 )
      It is like telling kids not to eat the paint. As we learn of risk, we have the ability to minimize it. Not so much be chicken little and run away, but deal with it rationally. The risk here is not only eating the wrapper, of course, but risky chemicals absorbed into food or waste. As many wrappers donâ(TM)t pose this risk, it seems easy enough to use those wrappers. It may just be a lack of knowledge. This is different from say the presence of dangerous elements in baby food or heavy metal in makeup ma
    • The highest levels of indicators for PFAS were found in food packaging from ...

      Don't eat the wrappers!

      Which fast food company used to run ads they had the best "cheese paper"? Aka solidified melted cheese that was left on the wrapper?

      A mega-yacht-chasing class action lawyer could use it as evidence instructing people to suck down pfas even faster!

    • The highest levels of indicators for PFAS were found in food packaging from ...

      Don't eat the wrappers!

      What do you mean? That's where the nutritents are [reddit.com]!

  • by geekmux ( 1040042 ) on Saturday March 26, 2022 @06:30AM (#62391119)

    "leaving action up to the states. Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, New York, Vermont and Washington have passed bills banning intentional use of PFAS in food packaging, but haven't yet specified a limit..."

    If you were ever worried that state governments could not demonstrate and execute the sheer corrupt incompetence of their bigger brother, worry no more. Apparently a restriction without any specific limit is what we call a "ban" now. Let me guess, you haven't really gotten around to defining punishments either, right? Always those pesky donors you have to appease.

    If that's how we're handling the wrapper, can't wait to see how we deal with the rest of that death-inducing Greed. This will make Big Tobacco legal battles look like a parking ticket fight by comparison.

    • Why would you need a limit for intentional use? Think about it. The ban doesn't prohibit the chemicals being on the plastic, or even in the plastic, it prohibits intentional inclusion. If you find any amount it could be grounds for a lawsuit, and you'd subpoena data on what they're putting into it. If you found that the source was something they put in that they didn't know contained it, they're not guilty (so long as they stop using that.) There is literally no need for or value to a limit on the amount gi

    • "leaving action up to the states. Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, New York, Vermont and Washington have passed bills banning intentional use of PFAS in food packaging, but haven't yet specified a limit..."

      If you were ever worried that state governments could not demonstrate and execute the sheer corrupt incompetence of their bigger brother, worry no more. Apparently a restriction without any specific limit is what we call a "ban" now. Let me guess, you haven't really gotten around to defining punishments either, right? Always those pesky donors you have to appease.

      If that's how we're handling the wrapper, can't wait to see how we deal with the rest of that death-inducing Greed. This will make Big Tobacco legal battles look like a parking ticket fight by comparison.

      That's why people go into government, to get kickbacks. It isn't a depressing side effect of government power. It is the primary purpose of it.

      • That's why people go into government, to get kickbacks.

        I have said the thing about the person who decided to make us use ServiceNow for incident and asset tracking. Someone had to get some kind of kickback. No one would voluntarily buy the service.

  • Dangerous Chemicals In Food Wrappers

    so don't eat the food wrappers?

  • Crappy fake food in crap packaging...with seed oil deep fried "fries". Chase it down with half a liter of cola.

    My god people. What are you doing to your bodies? Its a tragedy that these places even exist.

    • It is driving massive in heart disease research, to the benefit of all humanity.

    • by HiThere ( 15173 )

      What's wrong with "seed oil". Where do you think most oils come from? You don't make sesame oil from the leaves.

      • by ebvwfbw ( 864834 )

        You don't want to fry foods in seed oil. What are you, some kind of vegan (while that may sound degrading, I didn't mean it that way)? What you want is some good old lard or tallow. I know people that make their own tallow and lard. Fry up some fries in that and it's incredible.

        Yes, I know, it'll kill me. I think just about everything we eat they have told us will kill us. Coffee - bad for you, good for you... Alcohol - bad for you, good for you. Same with chocolate... and so on.

        Never the less... try some f

        • McDonald's used to make their fries in beef tallow until a certain group of people threw a hissy fit about it.

          • by ebvwfbw ( 864834 )

            McDonald's used to make their fries in beef tallow until a certain group of people threw a hissy fit about it.

            They were delicious. I remember them.

            They used to make a fried apple and cherry pie. I loved the cherry pie.

  • Please cite reputable, peer-reviewed studies that prove harm to humans. Or at least harm that outweighs benefits.

    No speculation, no theories, no "proposed mechanisms".

    • Please do a google search rather than expecting everything to be spoon fed to you in a slashdot summary.

    • by Klaxton ( 609696 )

      That's pretty easy to see with a google search, right? Studies with animals show definite signs of harm. Studies with people can only use groups that are exposed to PFAS chemicals at work, or live near factories that make it. "more likely to develop testicular cancer and kidney cancer"

      • I cannot find any hard evidence of harm to the population at large. Only "more likely" (whatever that means) to very specific and small groups.

        I have done my googling.

        • by Klaxton ( 609696 )

          You are welcome to remain complacent and eat food packaged in wrappers containing forever chemicals. Nobody will care.

          • And you are welcome to be sickened by spoiled or contaminated food.

            • by Klaxton ( 609696 )

              I think ordinary paper wrappers and containers without forever chemicals would do just fine. Show peer-reviewed studies proving they don't.

    • by MrL0G1C ( 867445 )

      Teflon is a PFAS, if it gets too hot then it releases toxic fumes that will give you what is called teflon flu and if you happen to have a pet bird nearby, it'll literally kill it.

      Great thing to coat you frying pan with, a substance that poisons you when it gets too hot. Also Teflon and PFAS are forever chemicals and non-stick kitchenware can't be recycled.

      Want proof, just use google.

      https://www.google.com/search?... [google.com]

      https://www.consumerreports.or... [consumerreports.org]

      "The chemicals are linked to cancer, birth defects, liver d

      • Thank you for your time and effort in posting the references, they are helpful. However, I read things like "linked to" and "probably" "might occur". These do not reach my threshold of widespread proven harm.

        I agree the situation is worth further investigation and monitoring. But headlines about "toxic" chemicals is just scare-mongering and click-baiting.

        Finally, are lowered sperm counts regarded as good, or bad?

        • by MrL0G1C ( 867445 )

          Look again, figure one, note the words 'high certainty'.

          Since PFAS are forever chemicals / non-degrading if we don't stop using them immediately then they will continue to build up over time poisoning the entire food chain. Continuing to use these in the state of current evident is massively stupid.

          A doubling of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in maternal serum was associated with a 39% (pâ

          " I read things like "linked to" and "probably" "might occur"."

          It seems that you've cherry picked some words in

  • Food is produced in nature, period. Kitchen & factories turn food into drugs and chemicals by extracting, filtering and heating. Examples of most toxic drugs are oil, sugar, refined flour. The humans consume these drugs as soon as they are weaned from mom's milk. They can live upto 130 yrs old but die early because of these drug addictions. So it is laughable how human worry about some additives while they consume plate full of drugs for food at home and restaurants. Then blame some obscure chemical
  • by VeryFluffyBunny ( 5037285 ) on Saturday March 26, 2022 @02:15PM (#62392129)
    How many people are going to die of obesity related diseases from eating too much fast food vs PFAS related diseases? BTW, PFAS are pretty much everywhere in the USA. I'm not sure whether it's possible to avoid them & the nasty thing about them is that they accumulate in the body & never break down. Relatively small amounts in products & pollution in the environment results in significant exposure over time. But PFASs are just one of many harmful pollutants that are common in the USA. How's your healthcare?
  • Glass containers for food and drink are cheap now.
    All our leftovers or prepped food go into glass storage.
    We also RO filter and remineralise our drinking water.
    A trend I don’t like is all supermarket meat being cryovac. Don’t like the idea of wet plastic being in contact with the meat. A butcher solves that problem.

  • It's just that people need to take a more serious approach to the issue of working with various chemicals, not only in large industries, but also in small businesses. For effective and safe management of chemicals, I can recommend such a tool as https://sdsmanager.com/ [sdsmanager.com]. I think that such services should be used at every enterprise where there are chemicals, so as not to endanger people.
  • I'm generally against the use of chemicals and medicines. Now there are a huge number of natural nutritional supplements that are really effective in maintaining health without side effects and harmful effects on the body. I can recommend these supplements https://www.diamondcbd.com/collections/delta-8/ [diamondcbd.com] that I take when I feel like my body needs support.

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