Cheeseburgers are bad for you. French fries are bad for you. Double-cheesy-triple-layer-giant-sized burritos are bad for you. None of this is news. However, what if you learned that the paper that wraps these drive-through delicacies was worse for you than the food they hold? This, would be important news.

New research from the University of Toronto reports that this is, sadly, true. Perfluoroalkyls are chemicals that repel grease, oil and water. Typically these are used for Teflon coating, stain-resistant carpet and varnish - things that need to protect themselves from grease and other liquids, according to EatDrinkBetter.com.
Additionally, these chemicals are used to coat fast food wrappers, to keep the grease and condiments from reaching your hands. Don't think you're not ingesting it just because a burger was wrapped in it for a couple minutes. High levels of these chemicals are leached into the food that you eat, and thus are showing up in people's blood.
Regulators haven't made motions for stricter regulation on this group of chemicals, also known as PFCAs, because they assumed three things, according to Scott Mabury, the study's lead researcher: “That the chemicals wouldn't move off paper into food; they wouldn't become available to the body; and the body wouldn't process them. They were wrong on all three counts.”
We reported at DietsInReview.com, in ""Fast Food Wrappers as Bad for You as the Food Inside,"" that ""These chemicals belong to the group commonly called 'gender bending' chemicals because they have shown to be disruptive to the endocrine system and can negatively affect the sex hormones."" The chemicals are carcinogens, and linger in the environment for a long time, which is why the chemical industry began reducing its dependency.
EatDrinkBetter.com said ""The amount of polyfluoroalkyl phosphate (eaters) absorbed from a single fast-food wrapper is not enough to make anyone sick, so don’t fret if you just got back from a drive-thru."" However, if artery-clogging amounts of fat, multiple days' worth of calories, and heart-stopping amounts of sodium weren't enough to make you resist your combo meal cravings, maybe cancer-causing packaging will. Likewise, eating one burger once in a while isn't going to hurt. But when you eat fast food daily for one or more meals, and people do this, it becomes a problem.
It's not just fast-food wrappers to be weary of. Jessica D'eon, co-author of the study, notes that these chemicals are also used in microwave popcorn bags.
At what point is there enough good information about how bad it is for you that we stop eating this garbage and start demanding clean, nutritious, balanced food from our food sources? A similar battle is played out with smoking. Plenty of research backing its damaging effects, most of us know someone hooked up to oxygen due to emphysema, and the cost and taxes on tobacco continues to rise, yet, we still haven't reached that point of diminished return.
To fast-food and processed-food manufacturers, we say back to the drawing board. While you're trying to find healthier, fresher ingredients to use in our food, please find a better medium for delivering it to us.
Will this news deter you from eating at fast-food restaurants?
(Source: DietsInReview