Your favorite fast food might be teaming with microplastics linked to cancer, infertility and autism.
Researchers tested more than 300 foods sold at restaurant chains and in grocery stores across America for two microscopic toxins.
They found that of all fast food joints it was the salad chain Sweetgreen and Starbucks that scored poorest.
Sweetgreen’s Chicken Pesto Parm Salad and Starbucks’ matcha latte was found to contain the highest amount of phthalates, a group of chemicals used to make plastics more flexible and transparent.
Shake Shack’s cheeseburger had the third highest levels, with Burger King’s Whopper with cheese, In-n-Out’s cheeseburger ‘Animal Style’ and Taco Bell’s cantina chicken burrito also ranking poorly.
Phthalates are commonly used in food packaging materials and have been dubbed ‘forever chemicals’ because they don’t break down once they enter the body, where they cause untold harms.
Studies have shown they imitate the body’s hormones and interfere with the production of – and response to – natural hormones like estrogen and testosterone.
For their report, researchers from the group PlasticList, purchased nearly all the samples directly from grocery stores and restaurants around the Bay Area in San Francisco.
An alarming study has revealed the high amount of toxic plastics lurking in a range of popular food and drinks, with fertility issues and cancer being among the negative health outcomes
Several samples of each product were purchased in order to get the truest results as possible.
In total, 775 samples of 312 foods were tested for plastic chemicals.
To prevent any contamination, all of the products were sent to a vetted testing lab in their original packaging.
Following the tests, Sweetgreen’s chicken salad was deemed the worst fast food product for its high phthalate content.
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), daily exposure levels to phthalates – specifically DEHP – are considered potentially dangerous at around 20 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day.
Sweetgreen’s salad contained an average of 0.05mg per serving (395g), as did Starbucks’ matcha latte.
While the researcher’s acknowledge this is a small amount, deemed safe by current safety standards, they suggest that much of the data and research around plastic toxicity is outdated.
Next up, Shake Shack’s cheeseburger had 0.04mg of phthalates per serving, followed by Burger King’s Whopper with Cheese (0.03mg per serving), Taco Bell’s Cantina Chicken Burrito (0.02mg per serving) and In-n-Out’s cheeseburger ‘Animal Style’ (0.01mg per serving).
Other fast food items listed with amounts around 0.01mg to 0.02mg of phthalates per serving include Wendy’s Dave’s Single with Cheese, Chipotle’s Burrito with Red Beans Veggies Chicken and Sour Cream and Chick-fil-A’s Deluxe Sandwich.
Overall, the research team detected phthalates in 73 percent of the 312 products they tested.
As part of the 18-month study, the researchers also tested items for bisphenol A (BPA), which is an industrial chemical used in the production of plastics and aluminum cans.
An Australian study published last year found boys exposed to endocrine-disrupting BPA in the womb were six times more likely to be diagnosed with autism before age 11 than those without exposure.
That team suggested BPA – which lines plastic and metal food packaging – was associated with neurological and behavioral changes associated with autism.
Of all of the food items tested, Sweetgreen’s Chicken Pesto Parm Salad was found to contain the highest amount of phthalates, with an average of 47,971ng per serving (395g)
Other food items with a high concentration of phthalates included Taco Bell’s Cantina Chicken Burrito (28,036 ng per serving)
Samples of 22 products, from vendors ranging from Starbucks to Shake Shack to Whole Foods, in the new study exceeded the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) intake limits for BPA.
The excess amounts ranged from 450 percent to 32,571 percent of EFSA limits for a 70 kg (154lb) adult.
One of the worst offenders when it came to BPA content was ‘Boba tea pearls’ from Boba Guys, which the PlasticList team said ‘vastly exceeds the EFSA limit for daily BPA consumption’.
Boba tea, or bubble tea, is a beverage that contains tapioca balls called boba.
The boba tea in question from Boba Guys equals 1.2 years of safe BPA consumption, according to the EFSA.
Several other teas from Boba Guys were called out for their ‘unhealthy’ BPA content, while Wild Planet Albacore Wild Tuna was also called out, as were several samples of tap water.
The researchers suggested plastic piping used in both individual homes and across water service regions could be responsible for the high BPA content.
When it came to phthalates, all of the foods PlasticList tested were deemed safe to eat according to the FDA, EPA, and EFSA standards for chemical content in foods.
While the levels of phthalates are considered ‘safe’, the PlasticList team says they are still a cause for concern and they suggest that today’s safety limits are outdated.
For instance, they highlight that the EPA safety limit for DEHP in 2024 is based on a 1953 study.
US food safety expert Darin Detwiler also told DailyMail.com that he finds the results of the plastics investigation ‘troubling’ and consumers should take note.
He explains: ‘Toddlers are far more sensitive to even small exposures due to their size and developmental stage.
‘Most foods won’t approach 1 percent BPA or DEHP [phthalates] , but leaching from packaging into foods can cause low-level, chronic exposures that accumulate over time.
‘Reducing exposure to BPA and DEHP in food is particularly important for toddlers, pregnant individuals, and those consuming high quantities of packaged or processed foods.’
Echoing Dr Detwiler’s sentiments, the PlasticList team conclude: ‘We’ve emerged from this project with the view that current safety limits for plastic chemicals could be materially wrong.
Phthalates are commonly used in food packaging materials and have been dubbed ‘forever chemicals’ because they don’t break down once they enter the body
One Boba Tea equals 1.2 years of safe BPA consumption, according to the EFSA
‘The limits set by different agencies contradict each other, many of them haven’t been revised in decades despite advances in science, and real-world scenarios like chemical mixtures are understudied.
‘We do think there is enough evidence that plastic chemicals are bad for babies for this to be worthy of concern for parents, and further study by experts.’
The European Chemical Agency notes that several phthalates, including DEHP, DBP, DIBP and BBP may damage fertility or the unborn baby and interfere with the hormonal system.
In particular, ‘they affect the sexual development of boys which can lead to infertility in adults’.
Meanwhile, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry warns that adult animals that ate DEHP showed damage to the testes, and liver and kidney damage along with decreased fertility.
Further underscoring the damaging effect of phthalates and DEHP in particular, the government agency references several animal studies.
In reveals: ‘Adult animals that ate DEHP showed decreased fertility, damage to the testes, and liver and kidney damage.
‘Pre-sensitized animals that ate or breathed DEHP showed increased allergies.
‘When animals were exposed to DEHP during pregnancy or early life, many effects were noted, including altered blood sugar and impaired development or function of the reproductive, kidney, liver, or nervous systems.’
It is not known if DEHP can cause cancer in people but rats and mice that ate DEHP for a long period of time developed liver cancer.
Some animals also developed pancreatic and testicular cancer.
