
Fast food is probably the highest eaten food on the planet today as it is visually appealing and lip-smacking as well, but we all know now how many fast food options are like slow poison for our bodies. It is not just limited to greasy burgers, crunchy fries, but our very own Indian Samosas and Kachoris are equally problematic, if not more.
There is another worrying aspect about fast food and that is its packaging. The wrapping paper and plastic bags which hold your fast food may not be safe for you at all.
Study on packaging of fast food and its effects on humans
Many fast food packaging have a grease-repelling chemical coating, which according to a study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters, consists of fluorinated compounds. These chemicals leach into the food from the packaging and can cause severe harm to the body.
The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explains that these flourinated compounds, also called as PFASs (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) may harm the growing foetus, decrease fertility and affect the immunity of the person and are also a cancer risk.
For that study, the researchers used the particle-induced γ-ray emission (PIGE) spectroscopy to measure the amount of fluorine in around 400 samples of wrappers and containers from fast food restaurants around the United States. The results were shocking as 56% of the dessert and bread wrappers, 38% of the sandwich and burger wrappers, 20% of the paperboard had fluorine.
So next time watch out for those greased papers and plastics and insist that they should serve it to you without them.
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