Do you know what’s really in your fast food?

Plastic. There is plastic in your fast food.

Researchers at George Washington University purchased 64 items from fast-food restaurants, tested them for 11 harmful chemicals, and...

...detected 10 of those 11 chemicals. More specifically:

☠️ 86% of the foods contained a plasticizer called DEHT

☠️ 81% of the foods contained a phthalate called DnBP

☠️ 70% of the foods contained a phthalate called DEHP

DEHT was found in higher amounts in burritos than in burgers. No DEHT was detected in fries, and cheese pizza had the lowest amount of all chemicals.

Where are all these plasticizers coming from? They might be leaching into the food from industrial tubing, conveyor belts, outer packaging, food-handling gloves, and plastic wrappers.

DEHT is a newer chemical that is being used to replace phthalates, so we don’t have many studies on its health effects yet. But we do have studies on phthalates and have found they can disrupt the endocrine system and hormones.

Fast food might be convenient and tempting, but here’s just one more reason not to make fast food a habit.

🥗By preparing your food at home, you’ll probably both eat more nutritious foods and reduce your exposure to plasticizers that could have harmful effects on your health.

Are you onboard?

Reference

Edwards L, McCray NL, VanNoy BN et al. Phthalate and novel plasticizer concentrations in food items from U.S. fast food chains: a preliminary analysis. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2021. [link]