Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ are contaminating plastic food containers

Harmful PFAS chemicals are being used to hold food, drink and cosmetics, with unknown consequences for human health

Many of the world's plastic containers and bottles are contaminated with toxic PFAS, and new data suggests that it's probably leaching into food, drinks, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, cleaning products and other items at potentially high levels.

It's difficult to say with precision how many plastic containers are contaminated and what it means for consumers' health because regulators and industry have done very little testing or tracking until this year, when the Environmental Protection Agency discovered that the chemicals were leaching into a mosquito pesticide. One US plastic company reported fluorinating" - or effectively adding PFAS to - 300m containers in 2011.