How harmful “forever chemicals” are putting our health and the environment at risk!

How harmful “forever chemicals” are putting our health and the environment at risk

From frying pans and cosmetics to paper food packaging and clothing, PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a class of more than 4,700 synthetic chemicals that are widely used in many different consumer products and industrial applications.

PFAS are extremely persistent in nature, hard to decompose and they have been linked to several adverse health effects including certain types of cancer, lower birth weight and size, decreased immune response to vaccines and endocrine disruption problems.

International and EU regulators have been moving too slowly to prevent and reduce PFAS pollution and accumulation. Few of the well-known long-chain PFAS are slowly being regulated, but they are often being replaced by alternatives that raise similar concerns in terms of health and environment impacts.

With this special newsletter edition, we are bringing attention to the presence of PFAS in food contact materials and how EDC-Free Europe partners across the world are calling for immediate political action to minimize our exposure.

Get involved today by sharing these resources with your own network, family and friends.

The new study Throwaway Packaging, Forever Chemicals shows PFAS chemicals are widespread in disposable food packaging from popular fast-food chains across Europe.

The report was published by the EDC-Free Europe members Arnika, BUND (Friends of the Earth Germany), CHEM Trust, ClientEarth, Danish Consumer Council Forbrugerrådet Tænk Kemi, the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), Générations Futures and Tegengif, in collaboration with the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN).

Want to hear the lead authors behind the study discuss its main findings? Rewatch the webinar organised by the CHE EDC Strategies Partnership.

If you want to be kept on the loop of all the latest news and useful resources on food contact materials, sign up for the new Food for Thought newsletter, launched by CHEM Trust, HEAL and Zero Waste Europe.

Did you know harmful chemicals in food packaging are putting our health at risk? HEAL, Zero Waste Europe, BEUC, CHEM Trust and ClientEarth have joined hands to bust some of the most popular myths surrounding chemicals, including PFAS, used in food contact materials.
Download the infographic today!

A new infographic and fact sheet from the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) and the University of California in San Francisco (UCSF) outline the impacts of PFAS chemicals on reproductive health, fertility and human development. These support FIGO’s position statement, that calls for a global removal of PFAS.

A consumer test carried out in Italy, Denmark, Spain and France has shown that certain types of chemicals, including PFAS chemicals, can be found in disposable tableware made of popular alternatives to plastic. The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) and its member organisations are calling for urgent EU regulation on these products.