From Clean Water Action (http://www.cleanwateraction.org/):
Pressure is mounting across the country to take on the issue of toxic PFAS in food packaging. Independent lab tests from various groups have detected PFAS in food wrappers from dozens of restaurants. They have also been detected in popcorn bags and many popular products found in supermarkets.
PFAS, known as the “forever” chemicals, are particularly dangerous because of their persistence in the environment and in our bodies. Studies have linked PFAS exposure to increased cancer risk, developmental delays in children, damage to organs such as the liver and thyroid, increased cholesterol levels and reduced immune functions, especially among young children.
Will you join our campaign calling on Congress to enact a national ban on PFAS in food packaging? Send a message to your members of Congress today at https://cleanwater.salsalabs.org/national-action-pfas-congress/index.html.
Clean Water has helped lead the charge to pass bills banning PFAS in food packaging in states like California, Connecticut and Minnesota. Our allies in Maine, Maryland, New York, Vermont, Washington and most recently Colorado have followed suit. And fourteen restaurant chains, including McDonalds, Taco Bell, Burger King, Panera and Starbucks, have committed to removing PFAS from their food packaging within the next few years as well.
But restaurants and food manufacturers in many states still use packaging containing PFAS, contributing to health threats for families across the country. And PFAS has impacts at all stages of its use from manufacturing at the front end to disposal at the back end. A recent Associated Press article quoted Brenda Hampton, local resident living near a PFAS manufacturing plant in North Alabama, as believing PFAS and other chemicals from the plant found in their community water as contributing to the kidney problems that she and other residents suffer from.
The good news is that a new federal bill has been introduced that would ban the use of PFAS in food production and packaging. But Congress needs to hear from you – contact your representative and senators today.
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