What the researchers did

In a report just published by the journal Environmental
Health Perspectives^[1], four scientists
from the Silent Spring Institute^[2]
have analyzed the content of restaurant and fast food meals and
determined that they contain chemicals that have been linked to
cancer.

RELATED: IT TAKES MORE THAN 4,000
CHEMICALS TO MAKE PLASTIC PACKAGING NEW RESEARCH FINDS^[3]

The chemicals are polyfluoroalkyls (PFASs). They are found in
greaseproof and water-resistant packaging, and they are commonly
found in:

• Food packaging, such as microwave popcorn bags and fast food
  wrappers
• Stain-resistant carpets, rugs, and furniture, including
  Scotchgard®, and waterproof clothing including GORE-TEX®
• Non-stick cookware, including Teflon®
• Outdoor gear that has a “durable water repellent” coating
• Firefighting foams and ski wax.

The types of PFAS are:

• Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
• Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS)
• Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)
• Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA)
• Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS)
• Perfluordecanoic acid (PFDeA).

Once inside the body, PFAS have a long half-life of up to
eight years. Exposure has been linked to these
health concerns:

• Cancer – the International Agency for Research on
  Cancer has designated PFOA a possible carcinogen, and the
  American Cancer Society has linked it to kidney, testicular and
  thyroid cancer^[4][5][6][7]
• Hormone disruption –PFAS affect hormone production and
  response^[8], with effects on
  estrogen production, thyroid hormone signaling, and on the
  receptors involved in fat metabolism
• Cholesterol – people exposed to higher levels
  of PFAS have higher cholesterol and higher levels of
  low-density liproprotein (LDL)^[9], LDL is the “bad
  cholesterol”, while high-density lipoprotein (HDL) is the “good
  cholesterol”
• Liver and kidney toxicity – PFAS are
  associated with liver lesions, kidney degeneration, and
  damage to liver function^[10]
• Immune system harm – a 2016 study^[11] determined that the
  immune systems of children are sensitive to PFAS, and those with
  greater exposure had significantly poorer responses to
  vaccines
• Reproductive and developmental toxicity –
  tests have shown that exposure to PFAS disrupted reproductive
  cycles, and led to lower birth weight^[12].

The Silent Spring Institute, which is based in Newton,
Massachusetts, was founded in 1994 to research the
links between breast cancer and exposure to chemicals found in
everyday products. The institute is named after environmentalist
Rachel Carson
who died of breast cancer in 1964. She was the
author of the book Silent Spring,
which documented the adverse environmental effects of
pesticides.^[13]

Silent
Spring Source: Wikimedia Commons^[14]

What the researchers did

The scientists examined the amount of PFAS in the blood of over
10,000 people from the years 2003
to 2014 who were part of the National Health and
Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)^[15]. The survey tracks
nutritional and health trends in the U.S.

They found that people who ate more meals at home had
significantly lower levels of PFAS in their bodies. The home cooks
sourced their food from grocery stores. People who ate more
frequently at restaurants or consumed more fast food, including
pizza, had higher levels of PFAS in their bodies.

This suggests that restaurant food and fast food are more likely
to be contaminated with PFAS due to their greater contact with
PFAS-containing food packaging.

During the time period of 2003 and
2014, long-chain PFAS were most common.
Manufacturers have been replacing long-chain PFAS with shorter
chain varieties, but research has shown^[16] that they raise similar
health concerns, leading experts to call for restrictions on this
entire class of chemicals.

Fast food packaging

In 2017, the Silent Spring Institute studied the greaseproof
packaging^[17] used by fast food
companies. They tested over 400 samples from
27 fast food chains throughout the U.S., including
paper wrappers, paperboard, and drink containers.

As reported in the February 1, 2017 issue^[18] of the journal
Environmental Science
& Technology Letters^[19], the researchers found
that almost 50% of paper wrappers and
20% of paperboard samples, such as boxes for fries
and pizza, contained fluorine^[20], a marker for the
presence of PFAS.

In particular, Tex-Mex food packaging, dessert and bread
wrappers were the most likely to contain fluorine.

Of the report, researcher Laurel Schaider said, “Children are
especially at risk for health effects because their developing
bodies are more vulnerable to toxic chemicals.” According to the
National Center for
Health Statistics^[21], approximately
one third of children in the
U.S.^[22] consume fast food every
day.

Two university studies

In a 2018 study^[23], researchers at George
Washington University and the University of California Berkeley at
San Francisco found that people who regularly ate at restaurants,
cafeterias and fast food places had had PFAS levels that were
35% higher than those who ate food purchased at
grocery stores.

The team found that:

• The association between phthalate exposure and dining out was
  significant for all age groups, but the highest for teenagers
• Adolescents who ate fast food and other food purchased outside
  the home had 55% higher levels of phthalates 
  compared to those who only consumed food at home
• Sandwiches, such as cheeseburgers, were associated with
  30% higher phthalate levels in all age
  groups.

According to a recent study^[24] by the National Center
for Health Statistics, 36.6% of U.S. adults, or
about 85 million people, ate fast food, including
pizza, on a given day. For people between the ages of
20 and 39, that figure rose to
44.9%, and for people age 40 to
59, it was 37.7%. Of those age
60 and older, only 24.1% ate fast
food daily.

Surprisingly, fast food consumption increased with income level,
with 42% of those in the high-income range eating
fast food once a day.

On April 1, 2019, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC)^[25] announced plans^[26] to conduct a health
study of PFAS. According to the agency’s draft planning document^[27], the study will examine
renal function and kidney disease, thyroid hormones and disease,
liver function and disease, diabetes, and immune response and
function in both children and adults.

Strangely, the study will not examine whether exposure to PFAS
can cause cancer.

How can you reduce your exposure to PFAS?

You can take the following actions to reduce your PFAS
exposure:

• Avoid greasy or oily packaged and fast foods because the
  packaging often contains grease-repellent coatings, examples
  include french fry and pizza boxes.
• Instead of eating microwave popcorn, make it the old fashioned
  way on your stove top.
• Choose furniture and carpets that aren’t marked
  “stain-resistant”, and don’t apply coatings such as
  Stainmaster®.
• Avoid waterproof and stainproof clothing and shoes, luggage and
  camping and sporting equipment.
• Avoid personal-care products containing ingredients labeled
  “fluoro” or “perfluoro”, PFCs are found in dental floss, nail
  polish, facial moisturizers, and eye make-up.
• Avoid Teflon™ or non-stick cookware, but if using, be careful
  not to let it heat to above 450ºF; discard
  cookware immediately if the non-stick coatings show signs of
  deterioration.

For more information on PFAS, you can contact the Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry^[28].