Could Your Disposable Plates Be Making You Fat & Sick? Not If You Use These.

February 11, 2019 // by Leah Segedie

Do you still use paper plates? Don’t worry, we won’t call the green police on you. But if you do, there is something you need to know. A dangerous chemical known as PFAS (short for per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances) was recently found in paper plates and other disposable food wares. These substances make your disposable plates, bowls, and other disposable food ware resistant to water and grease and therefore, better able to hold your food. The problem? PFAS chemicals are linked with numerous health effects can harm you and your family, including making you fat & sick. You’ve trusted Mamavation to bring you topics like the safest cookware, the safest kitchen appliances, and the best and worst organic milk brands. Now join us as we investigate disposable food are items like paper plates and bowls.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

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The Center for Environmental Research (CEH) published a new report called, Avoiding Hidden Hazards: A Purchaser’s Guide to Safer Foodware (PDF). According to this report, research indicates that PFAS chemicals are likely hazardous to both humans and the environment. These chemicals can leach out of boxes, containers, and other food ware products and into our food, as well as our air, water, and soil. They can even migrate into our bodies.

CEH sent hundreds of samples of food wares like plates, clamshells, etc to the lab to be analyzed for PFAS and the results were shocking. Most brands contained PFAS, including some “sustainable” or “green” brands. And some brands had PFAS for some products and not for others.

Later in this post, we list which brands were guilty, but also add in some additional requirements for brands to make the “best” list.

Current research links PFAS chemicals to harm. These chemicals are grease-proof, water-proof, & stain-proof and are known as Teflon, Gortex, ScotchGuard, etc.

Companies producing PFAS chemicals swear by their safety and the brands that use state the same. But these chemicals are endocrine disrupting and extremely problematic to human health and the environment. And the worst part is they are persistent, meaning they build up and don’t go away. And because of all this, they have been linked to several health issues that your family doesn’t want.

Based on the persistence of this chemical inside the body, it’s incredibly dangerous to be exposed throughout a lifetime because it will continue to build up. Therefore, it’s important to avoid these chemicals as much as possible.

I get it. Adulting is hard, especially when you have little ones. But never fear, Mamavation is here! This post is going to help you make sense of this issue–the disposable food ware aisle. But here are some of our additional suggestions.

Beside PFAS negative health effects, these are not the only dangerous chemicals in your disposable products. This makes buying a truly green single-use product very tricky, so we are focusing our efforts on the harm to your family first.

Also known as Styrofoam, this product is used in the production of “hot” disposable dinnerware like cups and plastic utensils. The main chemical in it is styrene, which is classified as a human carcinogen by the EPA. styrofoam has been linked to leukemia, lymphoma and other cancers. These chemicals have the ability to leach into our food especially when heated, or when contents contain fat or citric acid.

In 1986, the EPA listed polystyrene as the “5th largest creator of hazardous waste,” which was odd because they do not list is it as unsafe in cups and utensils. The process to make it also pollutes the air and the animal population. Because it can break up into pieces, it is harmful to animals that might digest it.

Found on paper plates, VOCs have been determined by the EPA to possibly contribute to both long- and short-term health problems, including headaches, loss of coordination, and damage to your liver, kidney, and central nervous system. VOCs can also be harmful to the lungs, blood flow, and the senses. Do we really want our families eating off plates made with this chemical? Studies have recently linked the exposure from VOCs in cleaning products to be equal to the health problems of smoking a pack a day.

Bleach isn’t as healthy as they want you to think on commercials. Even more common in the bleaching of paper products is chlorine. While we tend to think of this chemical as a way to make pools “safe” and get bathrooms cleaner, its safety is debatable. What scientists do know is that when chlorine is processed, dioxins and other dangerous chemicals are left behind which often end up in our water supply and in our lungs.

Dioxins can cause reproductive problems and developmental issues, damage the immune system, are an endocrine disruptor and a known carcinogen as well as being linked to birth defects and stillbirths in laboratory mice studies. Those are the dangers of long-term exposure, but even short-term exposure can cause skin legions and impact liver function. This organic pollutant also accumulates in the body and dumps poison into our landfills.

Today, plastic cups and plates may still contain BPA or BPS, which are known endocrine disruptors linked to reproductive harm, early puberty, and low sperm count – even with low-level exposure. Not only that, over 130 studies have linked it to breast cancer! It has also been linked to depression in teens as well as obesity. This is definitely a chemical we want our children to avoid by using on non-toxic dinnerware.

While the label “BPA Free” may make you more confident about buying products, a 2011 study in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives discovered that other “safer” plastics, which are often found in straws and paper cups and include polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, and polyethylene terephthalate, can leak estrogen-like compounds into food and drinks. In addition, the plastic lining in paper cups is not recyclable so most paper cups end up in landfills. Plastic is been problematic overall.

Sometimes found in paper plates and cups, phthalates are linked to breast cancer and are another item on the list of endocrine disruptors. They have been also linked to poor development of reproductive organs in male mice that were exposed prenatally. This toxin is found in so many other products, it makes sense to avoid it whenever possible.

Paper plates and cups are often treated with petroleum-based coatings so that they do not fall apart when holding food or liquid. These coatings are not biodegradable and are often misplaced in a compost pile, where they contaminate the compost. Since we know that some petroleum-based chemicals are unsafe, depending on the refinement process, I’d rather my family avoid these coatings altogether.

When you are looking at this list, it’s important to understand that there are lots of categories out there. Mamavation categorized the types of disposable food wares we looked at and gave you some top-level thoughts on what we found here:

After studying the PFAS report from the Center for Environmental Health, we combined those recommendations with additional chemicals to avoid like with polystyrene, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), chlorine & dioxins, bisphenols, phthalates, and other petroleum-based covers. This gave us bad, better and best categories.

These products tested positive for fluorine AND/OR have one of the following: polystyrene, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), chlorine & dioxins, bisphenols, phthalates, and other petroleum-based covers.

There were some surprising results as well. With the exception of the products listed above, many “green” brands tested positive for high levels of fluorine. Some of these didn’t test as high, but have other toxic chemicals in them. Here are the brands to avoid:

This set of products tested positive for low levels of fluorine but had no polystyrene, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), chlorine & dioxins, bisphenols, phthalates, and other petroleum-based covers.

These single-use food ware had “No Fluorine Added” test results. They also do not contain polystyrene, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), chlorine & dioxins, bisphenols, phthalates, and other petroleum-based covers. One of our favorite brands Bambu tested in this category. Bambu uses sustainable bamboo called Veneerware. They sent us all their products and they are fantastic! We’ve linked up their page on Amazon can you can browse here. We’ve also linked up as much of these as we could find for you below on Amazon. If they were not linked on, it just means we couldn’t find them.

Bamboo Studio

Brown 4.5″ Round Palm Bowl

Palm Leaf

Bamboo Studio

Brown 7″ Square Rimmed Palm Plate

Palm Leaf

Bambu

Brown 7″ Dessert Plate

Bamboo

BioMass Packaging (Leafware)

Brown 7″x7″ Square Plate

Palm Leaf

BioMass Packaging (VerTerra)

Brown 8″ Square Leaf Plate

Palm Leaf

Choice

Brown 4.375″ x 4.125″ x2.5″ Kraft Folded Take Out Container

Polycoated Interior Paperboard

Dart/Solo

8.5″ Symphony Medium Weight Plate

Clay-Coated Paperboard

Dixie

White Kant Leek Polycoated Food Boat

Polycoated Paper

Earth Bowl

Brown 8oz Soup Bowl

Paper Lined With PLA

Earth Bowl

Brown 16z Soup Bowl

Paper Lined With PLA

Earth Bowl

White 8oz Soup Bowl

Paper Lined With PLA

Earth Bowl

White 32oz Soup Bowl

Paper Lined With PLA

Earth Cup

Brown 8oz Hot Drink Cup

Paper Lined With PLA

Earth Cup

Brown 20oz Hot Drink Cup

Paper Lined With PLA

Earth Maize

Brown 8″ 3 Compartment Clamshell

PLA

Earth Maize

Brown 12.3125″ x 9.25″ 1.1875″ Tray

PLA

Earth Maize

Brown 9.5″ x 7.0″ x 1.1875″ Tray

PLA

Earth Maize

Brown 10.25″ x 8.25 x 1″ 5 Compartment Tray

PLA

Earth Maize

Brown 9″ Clamshell

PLA

Earth Maize

Brown 8″ Clamshell

PLA

Earth Maize

Brown 6″ Clamshell

PLA

EarthChoice

Green 12 oz Soup Container

PLA-Lined Paperboard

Eco-Products

Clear 18oz Salad Bowl

PLA

Eco-Products

Clear 16oz Round Deli Container

PLA

Eco-Products

White and Brown 3.5″ Soup Container

Paper/PLA

Eco-Products

Green 12 oz Soup Container

Made from “100% Renewable Resources,” PLA-Lined

Eco-Products

Clear 8″x8″x3″ One Compartment Clamshell

PLA

Eco-Products

Clear 6″ x 6″ x 3″ Hinged Clamshell

PLA

Eco-Products

Clear 9-24 oz. cold cup lids

PLA

Eco-Products

Clear 2oz Portion Cup

PLA

Eco-Products

Clear 2-4oz Portion Cup Lid

PLA

Eco-Products

Green and White 12 oz Soup Container Bowl

Paper Lined with PLA

Eco-Products

Green 10 oz Soup Container

Made from “100% Renewable Resources,” PLA-Lined

Eco-Products

Rust 24 oz Soup Container

Made from “100% Renewable Resources,” PLA-Lined

Eco-Products

Brown Food Boat

Clay-Coated Paperboard

Eco-Products

Tan French Fry Scoop

Clay-Coated Paperboard

Eco-Source Tableware

Brown 4.375″ x 3.5″x 4.5″ To Go Container

Polycoated Interior Paperboard

Eco-Gecko

Brown 4.5″ Heart Plate

Palm Leaf

Ecotainer

White 8 oz Soup Container

PLA-Lined Paperboard

Ecotainer

White 12 oz Soup Container

Fiber/PLA

Great Value

White 6″ Uncoated Economy Paper Plates

Paper

Green Paper Products

White 8 oz Rectangular Take Out Container

PLA

Grow Plastics

White PLA Foam

PLA

Nature’s Own Green Label

White 6″ Paper Plate

Paper

Pack n Wood

Brown Kraft Cardboard Tray 0.5″ x 6.5″

Unknown

Pack n Wood

Brown 6.97″x 4.99″x 1.18″ Rectangular Tray

Palm Leaf

Planet +

White 8 oz Soup Container

Paper/PLA-Lined

Primeware

8 oz Soup Container

PLA-Lined Paperboard

Primeware

White 12 oz Hot Cup

Paper Lined with Ingeo

Primeware

Clear 16oz Cold Cup

Ingeo

Primeware

Clear 12-24oz Flat Cup Lid

Ingeo

Resposable

Brown 5″ Round Bowl

Palm Leaf

Resposable

Brown 8″ Square Plate

Palm Leaf

Resposable

Brown 6.5″ Square Bowl

Palm Leaf

Sabert

Clear Lid

PLA

Simply Baked

Black and White Design Straw

Paper

Southern Champion

Brown 7.75″ x 5.5″ x1.875″ Champak Retro Kraft Take Out Container

Polycoated Interior Paperboard

Stalk Market

Clear 6×6 Hinged Clamshell

PLA

Tablecraft

Brown 2.5″ Round Plate

Bamboo

Tablecraft

Black Mini Square Serving Dish

Bamboo

Tater Ware

White 9″ 3 Compartment Hinged Clamshell

Renewable potato and vegetable starches

Treevive

Brown 9″x6″ Rectangular Tray

Palm Leaf

Treevive

Brown 12″ Round Compartment Tray

Palm Leaf

Up & Up

White 9″ Paper Plates (Uncoated)

Paper

Value Corner

White 9″ Paper Plate (Uncoated)

Paper

Vegware

Green stripe white 5mm ecovio straw

Ecovio

Vegware

White 8 oz Soup Container

PLA-Lined Paperboard

World Centric

White 8 oz Soup Container

PLA-Lined Paperboard

World Centric

Clear 16oz Salad Bowl

Ingeo

World Centric

Clear 16oz Round Deli Bowl

PLA

World Centric

Clear 6.75″x6.75″x3″ Bio Clamshell To-Go

PLA

World Centric

6″x6″x3″ Clear Clamshell

PLA

World Centric

Clear 8 oz Take Out Container

PLA

World Centric

Clear 10×7.5 Tray lid

PLA

World Centric

Clear 8″ x8″ x3″ Compartment Clamshell

PLA

World Centric

Clear 24 oz Burrito Oval Lid

PLA

Yes Eco

White and Green 12oz Soup Container

Paper Lined with PLA

Making wise choices when buying single-use food ware products for your family can be challenging but with proper research, you can make the best choices. That will keep your children safe and protect the environment.