68 PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ Found by Scientists in Food Packaging Worldwide

By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes | EcoWatch | March 21, 2024

Read the full article by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes (EcoWatch)

"New research by environmental scientists with Switzerland’s Food Packaging Forum Foundation has uncovered 68 per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) “forever chemicals” in food packaging — including plastic, paper and coated metal.

Used by manufacturers for decades in products like nonstick cookware, water-repellent clothing, stain-resistant fabrics, cosmetics, firefighting foam and food packaging, more than 12,000 of the human-synthesized chemical compounds are known to exist, according to the study.

“There are thousands of these chemicals,” said Birgit Geueke, co-author of the study and a senior scientific officer with Food Packaging Forum, as New Scientist reported. “We wanted to get a picture of what is known about the presence of PFAS in food packaging.”