News

Report calls out Chipotle, Sweetgreen for using bowls with cancer-linked chemicals

August 6, 2019

Compostable bowls, used by brands including Chipotle Mexican Grill and Sweetgreen, are made with "forever chemicals" that could pose serious health issues, including links to specific cancers.

That's the finding of a New Food Economy investigation of molded fiber bowls.

The testing, according to a report published by People, found all bowls tested were treated with per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances  compounds and tested positive for high amounts of fluorine. The bowls may not be as environmentally sound as marketed, according to the report, and PFAS are known to be linked to health issues including colitis, and kidney and testicular cancers.

A Chipotle spokesperson said in an email to FastCasual that, "As evidenced in Chipotle's Sustainability Report, we are committed to using safe and sustainable food packaging and only partner with suppliers who make fluorochemical sciences and food safety a top priority. These suppliers operate under strict guidelines set forth by the FDA, and have all provided Chipotle with certification that all raw material and finished pulp products fully meet regulatory requirements."

As of presstime,  Sweetgreen had not responded to FastCasual's request for comment.