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PFAS Chemicals in Food: Expert QA - Web MD
Millions of people have eaten out of them: Molded fiber bowls, the popular food containers from restaurants like Chipotle and Sweetgreen.
They are supposed to be compostable and environmentally friendly, but some public health experts say the chemicals that allow these bowls to hold hot, wet, and greasy foods without falling apart are toxic to both the environment and you.
The chemicals are called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, more commonly referred to as PFAS.
The New Food Economy, a nonprofit newsroom that does investigative reporting on “forces shaping how and what we eat,” went to eight restaurants at 14 locations in New York City -- including Chipotle, Sweetgreen, and Dig -- and tested fiber bowls used at each restaurant. All of the samples tested had high levels of fluorine, a chemical that generally indicates the bowls were treated with PFAS compounds.
Millions of people have eaten out of them: Molded fiber bowls, the popular food containers from restaurants like Chipotle and Sweetgreen.
They are supposed to be compostable and environmentally friendly, but some public health experts say the chemicals that allow these bowls to hold hot, wet, and greasy foods without falling apart are toxic to both the environment and you.
The chemicals are called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, more commonly referred to as PFAS.
The New Food Economy, a nonprofit newsroom that does investigative reporting on “forces shaping how and what we eat,” went to eight restaurants at 14 locations in New York City -- including Chipotle, Sweetgreen, and Dig -- and tested fiber bowls used at each restaurant. All of the samples tested had high levels of fluorine, a chemical that generally indicates the bowls were treated with PFAS compounds.