Major restaurant chains commit to eliminating 'forever chemicals'

[ificandream]

By Laura Reiley/Washington Post

Some of America’s favorite restaurants have just committed to taking something off consumers’ plates.

Restaurant Brands International, which owns Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes, announced plans late Wednesday to phase out these chemicals in its food packaging worldwide by 2025. Chick-fil-A announced a similar commitment Wednesday evening on Twitter to phase out these chemicals in packaging by the end of this summer.

The companies’ embrace of doing more to stamp out chemicals is in response to a just-published investigation by Consumer Reports that detailed how they found toxic chemicals in a majority of the food wrappers and packaging from chain restaurants and grocery stores that they tested.

These chemicals, called PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are used in hundreds of products to make them resistant to heat, water, oil and corrosion. They are sometimes called “forever chemicals” because they are resistant to breaking down naturally in the environment and can remain in people’s bodies for years. PFAS from grease-resistant food wrappers can seep into food and contaminate soil and water when packaging reaches landfills.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/03/24/fast-food-pfas-forever-chemicals/

[elleng]

1. 'in its food packaging'