Paper Food Packaging Also Contains Harmful Chemicals

Author: Mark Velov Time for reading: ~3 minutes Last Updated: August 08, 2022

Paper Food Packaging Also Contains Harmful Chemicals

CHAPTERS (Table Of Contents)

But What Do We Need To Keep In Mind, Though, To Protect Ourselves While We Wait For Evidence To Be Gathered?

Not only is bisphenol A in packaging dangerous for our health, its substitutes are also harmful ...

If you are a fan of fast food from famous restaurant chains and often grab your lunch in cartons, you should know that ingesting not only a number of additional toxins, but also that they break the records of environmental pollution.

An American team is examining more than 400 boxes, cups and all kinds of packaging used for the menus of 27 fast food restaurant chains in the United States. The data were collected in 2014 and 2015. The chains are popular and some of them appear on the Bulgarian market.

Data analysis revealed that most of these paper packages contained per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAS) . Fluoroalkyl is a large class of compounds with over 3,000 widely used chemicals that create resistance to grease and stains. The problem with these substances is that they permanently pollute the environment and remain in our body.

PFAS has been linked to a number of health problems, including tumors, reproductive failures, a malfunctioning immune system and even high blood cholesterol . These problems are seen with systemic even minimal exposure.

Research so far has shown that we ingest them with our food, which means that the compounds in the packaging pass into the products and we literally eat them , says Professor Arlene Bloom of the University of California, Berkeley and executive director of the Green Science Policy Institute, USA.

One third of all samples tested positive for PFAS according to the study, with bread and desserts containing the highest levels. Half of them give a positive result for availability. They are followed by sandwiches (burgers) - in 38% of them fluoroalkyl compounds are found . One of the five paper packages that are designed for french fries or other fried temptations also contain them. The safest are the cardboard cups with which the drinks are served - their tests do not give positive results.

In a re-test to confirm the results of 20 types of paper packaging, six tested positive for both PFOA and C8 , the latter of which is the main chemical contained in the Teflon coating.

PFOA (bisphenol A) is a specific type of fluoroalkyl substance that is not allowed in the packaging of food by the relevant regulatory authorities in developed countries, but is still found in articles made in China and other countries.

Researchers are still unaware of the exact mechanism by which all of these compounds enter food from packaging , but it is more than clear that the data obtained are not a good sign.

PFOA has been replaced by different PFAS, which achieve the same packaging qualities as heat, water and grease resistance. It is believed that the latter clears the body faster, which is why they are considered safer from the industry.

It is this thesis that researchers now disagree with - according to Prof. Bloom, with constant exposure to PFAS from food packaging that we regularly consume, the level of these chemicals is constantly maintained in our bodies, no matter how quickly they are released. from the body.

Naturally, these data and conclusions do not surprise anyone. However, regulators prohibit the use of packaging containing substances for which science clearly proves harmful to health. Manufacturers also conduct their own research on the basis of which they develop their products in the direction of consumer safety. Data on the damage that PFAS can cause to the body are yet to emerge, and regulators need the results of serious research to take the necessary measures.

But what do we need to keep in mind, though, to protect ourselves while we wait for evidence to be gathered?

Expectant mothers who have high levels of PFAS in their blood are more likely to lose their pregnancy than women who have low levels of PFAS .
These chemicals cross the placenta and are excreted in breast milk , which also harms the growing fetus or baby.
There is evidence that healthy adults and children with higher levels of PFAS in the blood do not have the same protective effect with vaccines as others, probably due to a suppressed immune response .
The only way at this stage to protect ourselves from the harmful effects of fluoroalkyl compounds is to prevent their intake. We can limit this by avoiding eating food that has been in contact with these compounds - these are the packages in which popcorn is made in the microwave; grease-resistant paper packaging; some pizza boxes; containers in which the food for home is placed and the packages with which the menus in the fast food restaurants are placed.

Paper Food Packaging Also Contains Harmful Chemicals

CHAPTERS (Table Of Contents)

But what do we need to keep in mind, though, to protect ourselves while we wait for evidence to be gathered?

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