By Brian Linder 

Chick-fil-A fan?

How about McDonald’s? Like Taco Bell, those flame-broiled burgers at Burger King? How about that new Arby’s jingle and their roast beef sandwiches?

You might want to rethink all of those stops, because while we knew eating fast food isn’t the most healthy decision, a report published by Consumer Reports Thursday sheds light on a concern that might be greater than the calorie splurge those kinds of meals can bring.

Because, according to the report, all of those establishments have toxic “forever chemicals,” known as PFAS, in the packaging that they put their food in. And PFAS are bad news, having been linked to an increase in a risk of some cancer types, immune issues, liver damage … the list goes on.

They are called “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down in the environment, hang around and end up in our food and water supply. According to reports, many of us have already been exposed to the chemicals, and likely have some level of them in our blood.

But PFAS are not things you want to willingly add more of in your body, and according to the recent report, the food packaging may be a pretty easy way to up your intake of the nasty substances. Because, the report said, fatty and salty food are more likely to absorb the chemicals.

“We know these substances migrate into food you eat,” Justin Boucher, an environmental engineer at the Food Packaging Forum, told Consumer Reports. “It’s clear, direct exposure.”

According to the latest report, “100 food packaging products from 24 restaurant and grocery chain across the country in fall 2021.”

Eight restaurants – Chick-fil-A, Arby’s, Burger King, McDonald’s, Nathan’s Famous, Taco Bell, Sweetgreen and Cava – “had at least one type of packaging,” that was found to contain PFAS.

Per the report, several restaurants, including Cava, Chipotle, Freshii, Panera Bread, Sweetgreen and Wendy’s committed to removing PFAS from their packaging by the end of 2021. Chick-fil-A says on its website that such packaging is “expected to be phased out by the end of summer of 2022.”

McDonald’s and Taco Bell have reportedly committed to removing them by 2025.

This post was originally published on this site