Turn to Tara: Craving fast-food for lunch today? Your next order might come with a side dish of dangerous chemicals

Turn to Tara found that alarming levels of dangerous chemicals known as PFAS have been discovered in the food packaging.

News 12 Staff

Apr 21, 2022, 10:45 AM

Updated 907 days ago

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Are you craving a fast food burger and fries, or a chicken sandwich?
If so, think again, you could wind up chowing down on something not on the menu - a side dish of nasty toxins.
Turn to Tara found that alarming levels of dangerous chemicals known as PFAS have been discovered in the food packaging used by some of the best known fast food chains and grocery stores in the country.
Some restaurants include McDonald's, Burger King, and Arby's. Also included are healthier options like Sweet Green, Whole Foods and CAVA.
Scientists from Consumer Reports tested over 100 food packaging for PFAS and detected the chemicals in over half of the products tested. They found that paper bags, like those used to carry french fries, and molded fiber bowls had some of the highest levels of PFAS.
This is why it should concern you: PFAS - often referred to as "forever chemicals" - do not breakdown in the environment and have been linked to a growing list of health problems, including immune system supression, lower birthweight and higher cancer risks.
Some chains are already pledging to take action. McDonald's is promising to phase out PFAS from their packaging by 2025, while Burger King and Chick-Fil-A committed to "reducing" their levels.
Consumer Reports launched a petition calling on Arby's and Nathans to do the same.
A CAVA representative sent News 12 a statement saying, "At CAVA, we care deeply about the impact we have on our communities and the world at large. We remain committed to eliminating added PFAs from all food packaging and have partnered with like-minded new suppliers that are equipped to meet CAVA's commitment to responsibly sourced packaging with no added PFAs. Due to a multitude of factors related to the pandemic, and especially global supply chain shortages, the transition to eliminating added PFAs, which began in August of 2021, is taking longer than planned. Our teams are working with our suppliers to complete the transition within the year."
Got a problem? You should Turn to Tara. HERE'S HOW.