Fast Food, Fast Packaging: The Plastic Chemicals Riding Along With Your Meal

When people say a burger or fries are “loaded with plastic chemicals,” they usually don't mean someone mixed plastic into the recipe.

- TADG NETWORK

The concern is migration: chemicals used in packaging, processing equipment, and disposable containers can move into food—especially when the food is hot, oily, or acidic. Over years, that “small but frequent” exposure can add up.

Three chemical families dominate the conversation.

Phthalates (pronounced THAL-ates). These are plasticizers used to make certain plastics flexible, and they can show up in food through contact materials and processing. Studies using biomonitoring have found that people who report eating more fast food tend to have higher levels of some phthalate metabolites in urine. The highest signals are often seen with foods that are handled a lot and come with greasy packaging-think burgers, burritos, and fries.