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Assess the extent to which PFAS can migrate from products into beverages and food and the possible health implications of chronic exposure through this pathway.

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Assess the extent to which PFAS can migrate from products into beverages and food and the possible health implications of chronic exposure through this pathway.

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PFAS can easily migrate from products into beverages and food, for example products such as lined paper cups from Starbucks or sandwich wrappers. This exposure to PFAS occurs as side-chain polymers made of PFAS can break off into PFAS molecules which are small enough to enter food. Some of the possible health implications of chronic exposure through this pathway include testicular and kidney cancers, ulcerative colitis, and decreased immune responses to vaccines.

Source: https://www.statnews.com/2023/05/02/pfas-food/

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Study: Ingredient found in salad bowls and burger wrappers less safe than previously thought

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The toxic chemicals used in salad bowls and French fry pouches may be leaching into food, despite efforts to make those materials safer.

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Investigate how PFAS from discarded biodegradable products affect soil and water quality, and their potential bioaccumulation in wildlife.  

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Investigate how PFAS from discarded biodegradable products affect soil and water quality, and their potential bioaccumulation in wildlife.  

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PFAS don't degrade (or do over extremely long periods of time), being "forever chemicals," so the PFAS can leech off the products and contaminate soil and water. PFAS can be spilled or disposed of in the water or enter the water from PFAS emitted into the air. They can be found in surface bodies of water such as lakes and rivers, as well as groundwater sources and wells. Soil contamination may lead to eventual groundwater or surface contamination. Contamination by PFAS have various health consequences and bioaccumulate in organisms over time since they don't degrade, including humans. For example, hundreds of studies have found PFAS in the brains and blood of both humans and animals in every continent.

Source: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/european-zero-pollution-dashboards/indicators/pfas-contamination-and-soil-remediation-signal

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Investigate how awareness of PFAS content influences consumer choices and trust in products marketed as sustainable or biodegradable.

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Investigate how awareness of PFAS content influences consumer choices and trust in products marketed as sustainable or biodegradable.

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Awareness of PFAS content influences consumer choices because when people are more aware of these forever chemicals and the dangerous health impacts of PFAS, they are less likely to buy products that have these chemicals in them. The issue is that not that many people are not aware of PFAS. According to the National Institutes of Health, "55% of the population may have heard of PFAS, just 23% felt they understood PFAS as an environmental contaminant, meaning most of the population did not know about its uses, risks, or extent as a chemical present in consumer products." This inhibits the ability of consumers to make conscious decisions on the products they buy that may contain PFAS since they are often not knowledgeable or are misinformed. This can also affect the trust people have in companies since people who are misinformed are more likely to trust companies especially when they are well known like Starbucks, Lululemon, and The North Face even though they are all found to use PFAS in their products. On the other hand, those who are aware of PFAS are more likely to not trust companies so willingly and will look for better alternatives.

Source: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10653490/

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Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. ✉* E-mail: s.deVilleneuveag.tamu.edu

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Let’s talk about PFAS: Inconsistent public awareness about PFAS and its sources in the United States

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The presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in U.S. drinking water has recently garnered significant attention from the media, federal government, and public health professionals. While concerns for PFAS exposure continue to mount,…

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Explore legislative approaches to limit or ban PFAS in food contact materials and the potential impact on public health and the environment.

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Explore legislative approaches to limit or ban PFAS in food contact materials and the potential impact on public health and the environment.

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One example of a legislative approach to limiting PFAS in food contact materials is California's regulation that "prohibits any person from distributing, selling, or offering to sell any food packaging that contains PFAS (either intentionally added or at or above 100 parts per million (ppm))" (Packaging Digest). Other states have also enacted similar legislation such as Vermont which has a law that "bans the manufacture, sale, and distribution of any food package to which PFAS have been intentionally added". The potential impact on public health and the environment of such legislation would be limiting people's exposure to PFAS through food packaging and preventing resultant health implications such as kidney cancers or ulcerative colitis.

Source: https://www.packagingdigest.com/food-safety/unpacking-pfas-food-packaging-regulations-in-the-us

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PFAS Food Packaging Regulations State by State

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A look at current and forthcoming state regulations that ban per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, better known as PFAS or “forever chemicals.”

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Study: New research has found that some packaging that's touted as environmentally friendly contains high-levels of PFAS chemicals that can be damaging to the environment and human health. PFAS are hard to break down and have been linked to multiple different types of cancer.

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Analyze whether PFAS content hinders the decomposition process of biodegradable products, potentially leading to prolonged environmental persistence.

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Analyze whether PFAS content hinders the decomposition process of biodegradable products, potentially leading to prolonged environmental persistence.

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Many products that are marketed as biodegradable and therefore a more environmentally friendly and sustainable option have actually been found to contain PFAS. This often includes biodegradable food packaging, and utensils like paper straws. However, while the remainder of the product may be able to degrade naturally, the PFAS don't decompose and are released upon the decomposition of the product, instead pervasively contaminate the environment. Once the PFAS are in the environment, they're basically impossible to move since they don't degrade. PFAS can leach into both surface and groundwater sources through direct pollution or via precipitation "grabbing" the chemicals from contaminated soil, like a landfill. It bioaccumulates in organisms and is biomagnified through the food web. Essentially, not every part of these "biodegradable" products really are, and the release of PFAS in the environment can have detrimental effects.

https://coastalreview.org/2019/09/pfas-found-in-biodegradable-food-packaging/