Bilott said the chemicals are used on items such as pizza boxes, hamburger wrappers and microwave popcorn bags to make them resistant to oils and grease.

A Consumer Reports investigation published in March, “Dangerous PFAS Chemicals Are in Your Food Packaging,” detected PFAS in fast-food wrappers, Bilott said.

Consumer Reports tested food packaging for its total organic fluorine content, which is an indicator of a material’s total PFAS content, according to the group’s website.

The testing detected fluorine in more than half the food packaging. Almost a third of the products had organic fluorine levels above 20 ppm, and 22 were above 100 ppm, the upper limit established by California beginning in 2023.