FDA Claims Pizza Boxes May Cause Cancer

Earlier this week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced plans to ban three chemicals used in many pizza boxes and other food packaging which they say could cause cancer.

Three types of perfluoroalkyl ethyl will be banned by the FDA, who say there  is "no longer reasonable certainty" that harm does not come from exposure to these chemicals. The FDA also expressed concern that the chemicals are toxic to humans, resulting in cancer and birth defects.

A statement from the FDA said they were “proposing that we amend our food additive regulation to no longer provide for the use of three specific perfluoroalkyl ethyl containing food-contact substances (FCSs) as oil and water repellants for paper and paperboard for use in contact with aqueous and fatty foods.”

In other words, the chemicals are used to keep cheese and toppings from sticking to the cardboard. According the FDA, those chemicals could be getting onto the slices before we devour them.

Oh, and get this- the chemicals can't be digested or eliminated by our bodies, so they stick around in our guts and build up over time to toxic levels.