Plastic containers can contaminate food with PFAS within a week

ACCORDING to an American study, some plastic containers, such as milk and shampoo bottles, have tested positive for PFAS. These harmful chemicals are capable of spreading to food within a week.

New research from scientists at the University of Notre Dame in the US state of Indiana, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters, demonstrates for the first time the ability of PFAS to migrate into food products and solvents within a week.

PFAS, commonly referred to as "forever chemicals," are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, chemical compounds used since the 1950s and present in some clothing, cosmetics and food packaging.

PFAS are known to degrade slowly, which is how they came to be known as forever chemicals.

The results of this recent study showed that PFAS were able to migrate from fluorinated high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic containers into food, directly exposing consumers to harmful chemicals. Indeed, these same substances have been linked to health problems such as prostate, kidney and testicular cancers, and thyroid disease.

France's Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) warns that PFAS can cause an increase in cholesterol levels, can lead to cancer, and can have effects on fertility and fetal development.

The French government agency also says that these substances are suspected of interfering with the endocrine (thyroid) and immune systems.

To reach their conclusions, the researchers analyzed PFAS levels in olive oil, ketchup and mayonnaise that had been in contact with fluorinated plastic containers for seven days.

"Based on the amount found in the different food samples, the study estimates enough PFAS could be ingested through food stored in the containers to be a significant risk of exposure," explains a news release accompanying the research.

These types of containers are not normally intended for food storage. Nevertheless, "there is nothing preventing them from being used for food storage at the moment," the news release warns.

"Not only do we know that the chemicals are migrating into the substances stored in them, but that the containers themselves work their way back into the environment through landfills.

PFAS doesn’t biodegrade. It doesn’t go away. Once these chemicals are used, they get into the groundwater, they get into our biological systems, and they cause significant health problems," said Graham Peaslee, professor of physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Notre Dame and an author of the study.