How plastic ends up on your plate

Plastic contaminates our food long before it reaches our kitchens. From farming, processing, packaging, cooking, and storing, plastics shed particles and harmful chemicals that end up in what we eat.
Every bite can come with microplastics and hidden chemicals.

Food swaps are one of the fastest ways to reduce your exposure
– let’s get started.

Microwaving food
in plastic containers
can release
4 million microplastic particles

top food
swaps

Use Glass or Ceramic to Heat Food: Heat causes plastic to release millions of microplastics and chemical additives directly into food — even when containers are labeled “microwave safe.”
Take Out Your Takeout Food: Immediately transfer your food out of the container when you get home. Soups, noodles, curries, and sauces combine heat + liquid, which accelerates leaching of phthalates, BPA-type chemicals, and microplastics.
Opt for Reusable Bottles: Bottled beverages are a major daily source of microplastics, often containing tens of thousands to millions of particles per liter — especially after heat or storage.
Chose Fresh or Frozen Foods: Most cans are lined with plastic resins that can leach BPA, BPS, or similar chemicals, especially into acidic or fatty foods like tomatoes, soups, and beans.
Use Loose-Leaf or Plastic-Free Paper Tea Bags: Some tea bags contain plastic fibers that release billions of micro- and nanoplastics when steeped in hot water.
Chose Stovetop Popcorn: Microwave popcorn bags are often lined with PFAS “forever chemicals” that migrate into food when heated. A pot + kernels avoids both PFAS and plastic exposure.

Label alert

BPA / BPS / BPF

Harmful hormone disrupting chemicals that show up in can linings, jar lids, and plastic containers.
Microwave Safe

Common phrase meaning that the container won’t melt — not that it won’t release chemicals.
PFAS (“Forever Chemicals”)

Migrate into food when heated and do not break down in the body, linked to immune, hormone, and cancer risks.

Learn which products are
the worst offenders

01

Takeout Containers

Hot Meals, Leftovers
Heat + liquid creates a perfect storm for plastic leaching.

Soups, noodles, and other hot meals served in plastic containers can release phthalates, BPA-type chemicals, and microplastics directly into the food.

Reheating in takeout or plastic containers increases exposure.
02

Ultra-Processed Food

Meals, Snacks
Microwave heat dramatically increases plastic breakdown.

Chips, crackers, cookies, and energy bars are heavily exposed to plastics during processing

Fat acts like a sponge for plastic chemicals. Cheese and dairy stored or wrapped in plastic — especially deli cheese — can accumulate phthalates used to soften plastics.

Popcorn bags are often coated with PFAS “forever chemicals” to resist grease. Heat causes these chemicals to migrate into the popcorn — along with plastic residues.
03

Beverage Containers

Plastic Drink Bottles, Soda Cans
Bottled beverages often contain tens of thousands to millions of microplastic particles per liter.

One liter of bottled water may contain hundreds of thousands of microscopic plastic particles.

Heat and long storage increase shedding.

Caps and linings add additional plastic exposure.
04

Canned Foods

Soups, Sauces, Vegetables, Fruit
Most cans are lined with plastic resins to prevent corrosion.

Linings can leach BPA, BPS, or similar chemicals, especially into acidic or fatty foods like tomatoes, soups, and beans.

Heat used during the canning process can increase chemical migration from the lining into food before it even reaches store shelves.

Repeated consumption of canned foods can contribute to exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals over time.
05

Hot Beverages

Coffee Pods, Tea Bags, To-Go Cups
Some tea bags contain plastic mesh or sealing fibers. When steeped in hot water, a single bag can release billions of microplastic and nanoplastic particles into the tea.

Hot, acidic drinks like coffee further enhance leaching compared to cold liquids.

Most disposable paper coffee cups are lined with polyethylene plastic to prevent leaks.