You grab a quick lunch from the deli. The sandwich is wrapped in grease-proof paper. You order a salad from a fast-casual spot, and it comes in a molded fiber bowl that promises to be eco-friendly.
On a busy night, you toss a bag of microwave popcorn into the machine, listening for the pops to slow down. In each of these moments, you chose the food you were eating. You likely never thought you had to worry about the container it came in.
We trust the products we use every day. We trust that a car’s brakes will work, that a child’s toy is safe, and that the packaging holding our food is nothing more than a passive container. But a growing body of scientific evidence reveals a disturbing truth.
Wrappers, boxes, and bags designed for our convenience are often treated with industrial chemicals that can leach into our food and into our bodies.
These are not trace amounts of harmless substances.
They are potent chemicals linked to devastating health problems, including cancer, thyroid disease, and developmental issues. When you or someone you love receives a serious diagnosis from toxic packaging, your world narrows to doctors, treatments, and a search for answers.
It is a search that rarely leads to a pizza box or a microwave popcorn bag. But maybe it should. The discovery that you may have been unknowingly exposed to toxic substances for years is unnerving.
It feels like a violation. And in the eyes of the law, it may be exactly that.
Contact Hach & Rose Today for a Free Consultation
The Problem of “Forever Chemicals” in Your Kitchen
The primary culprits are a class of more than 9,000 man-made chemicals known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). You may have heard them called “forever chemicals.”
They earned this nickname for a chilling reason: they do not naturally break down in the environment or in our bodies. Once they get in, they tend to stay there, accumulating over a lifetime.
Why would these chemicals be in food packaging at all? Because they are remarkably effective at repelling grease, oil, and water. This quality makes them perfect for:
- Fast food wrappers for burgers and sandwiches
- French fry bags and sleeves
- Pizza boxes
- Microwave popcorn bags
- Molded fiber bowls used for salads and takeout
- Bakery and pastry bags
For decades, the companies making these chemicals and the corporations using them in their packaging have profited from their convenience. They sold the public on a clean, mess-free experience.
What they did not disclose was the potential cost of that convenience to human health. The problem is one of migration. When hot or greasy food is placed in a PFAS-treated container, the chemicals do not stay put.
They can seep out of the packaging and directly into the meal you are about to eat. With every bite, you could be ingesting these persistent industrial compounds.
The Connection Between PFAS and Serious Illness
This is not a theoretical risk. Major health organizations, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have studied PFAS extensively.
They have identified significant links between long-term exposure to certain PFAS and a range of severe health conditions. A diagnosis of any of these conditions is life-altering.
It can mean years of aggressive medical treatment, overwhelming medical bills, and a permanent change in your quality of life. The illnesses scientifically associated with PFAS exposure include:
- Kidney Cancer
- Testicular Cancer
- Liver Damage
- Thyroid Disease
- Ulcerative Colitis
- High Cholesterol
- Preeclampsia and other pregnancy complications
- Decreased immune system response, including reduced vaccine effectiveness in children
Learning that your illness may be connected to a chemical you never knew you were consuming can be infuriating. It raises a critical question: If these companies knew their products contained dangerous chemicals, why did they keep using them? And why didn’t they warn anyone?
The answers to these questions form the foundation of legal action.
The Legal Basis for a Claim: A Defective Product
You cannot sue a company simply for using a chemical. The legal action must be based on a specific failure or wrongdoing. In toxic food packaging cases, the legal arguments are rooted in product liability law.
This area of law holds manufacturers, distributors, and sellers responsible for placing a dangerous or defective product into the hands of consumers. In New York, a product liability claim can be built on several key arguments.
1. Design defect
This is not about a single contaminated batch. This is about the entire product line being inherently unsafe. The legal argument is that food packaging containing PFAS is defectively designed.
The manufacturer consciously chose to use these chemicals, even when safer, non-toxic alternatives were available. To prove a design defect, we must show that the product’s risks outweighed its benefits.
Was the convenience of a grease-proof wrapper worth the increased risk of cancer or thyroid disease? A reasonable person would say no. The companies could have — and should have — used a safer design. Their failure to do so makes the product defective.
2. Failure to warn
This is perhaps the most powerful argument. A company has a legal duty to warn consumers about any known dangers associated with its product. Evidence suggests that some chemical manufacturers knew about the health risks of PFAS for decades and hid that information from the government and the public.
Food companies and packaging manufacturers also have a responsibility. They cannot claim ignorance when scientific information about the dangers of PFAS is widely available.
They had a duty to either remove the chemicals or, at the very least, place a clear warning on the packaging for consumers. They did not. They chose to remain silent.
This failure to warn denied you the ability to make an informed choice about the products you bought and the risks you were willing to take.
The Challenge: Proving Causation
One of the first questions anyone in this situation asks is: “How can I possibly prove that my illness was caused by chemicals in food wrappers?” This is the central challenge in any toxic exposure case, and it is why these cases are so complex.
Proving causation is not about finding one specific wrapper from one specific meal that made you sick. It is about building a bridge of evidence that connects your long-term exposure to your specific diagnosis.
This is a meticulous process that requires significant legal and scientific resources.
An experienced legal team will work to establish this connection by:
- Documenting exposure: We would create a detailed history of your potential exposure. This includes your dietary habits, the types of food you regularly consumed, and the brands you frequently purchased.
- Leveraging scientific research: We use the vast body of existing epidemiological studies that show a strong statistical link between PFAS exposure and certain diseases within a population.
- Consulting with experts: We work with leading medical experts, toxicologists, and oncologists. These experts can review your medical records and provide a professional opinion that, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, your illness is consistent with long-term PFAS exposure.
- Exposing corporate knowledge: We use the legal discovery process to uncover internal company documents, emails, and research that can show what the company knew about the risks and when they knew it.
You do not have to find the “smoking gun” yourself. The job of a skilled legal team is to gather all the threads of evidence and weave them into a clear and compelling case that demonstrates how a company’s negligence led to your harm.
What a Successful Lawsuit Can Achieve
Filing a lawsuit is a major decision. It is important to understand what it can accomplish for you and your family. The goals are twofold: securing the compensation you need to move forward and holding negligent corporations accountable for their actions.
Financial compensation for your losses
A serious illness creates enormous financial and emotional burdens. A lawsuit seeks to recover damages to address the full scope of your losses. This compensation can cover:
- Economic damages: These are the specific, calculable financial costs of your illness.
- All past, present, and future medical bills (surgery, chemotherapy, medication, rehabilitation)
- Lost income and wages if you were unable to work
- Diminished earning capacity if you cannot return to your previous job
- The cost of any long-term care or assistance
- Non-economic damages: This compensation is for the profound human toll of the illness, which does not have a simple price tag.
- Pain and suffering (both physical and emotional)
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Emotional anguish and mental distress
- Loss of consortium (the impact on your relationship with your spouse)
While no amount of money can restore your health, it can relieve the immense financial pressure on your family. It ensures you have access to the best possible medical care without having to worry about how you will afford it.
Accountability and public safety
These lawsuits are also about changing corporate behavior. Companies have prioritized profits over people for too long, assuming they could operate without consequence.
Taking legal action sends a powerful message that this is unacceptable. A successful outcome can force these companies to:
- Remove PFAS and other toxic chemicals from their food packaging.
- Invest in and use safer, non-toxic alternatives.
- Be transparent with the public about the materials they use.
Your case, joined with others, can help protect countless people in the future. It can change industry standards and ensure that no other family has to go through what yours has endured.
Your Legal Ally Is Just One Call Away
Taking on a massive chemical company or a global fast-food corporation can feel like an impossible task. They have teams of lawyers and virtually unlimited resources to fight your claim. They will argue that their products are safe, that the science is unsettled, and that something else must have caused your illness.
You need an advocate who is not afraid of that fight. You need a team with the resources, experience, and determination to stand up to these giants on your behalf. An experienced personal injury law firm will manage every part of this demanding process for you.
We gather the evidence, hire the necessary experts, handle all the complex legal filings, and build a powerful case designed to win. We take the weight of the legal battle off your shoulders so you can focus on what matters most: your health and your family.
If you or a family member has been diagnosed with a serious illness like cancer, liver damage, or thyroid disease, and you suspect a link to toxic chemicals in food packaging, do not wait to seek help. You have a right to know the truth and to seek justice for the harm you have suffered.
The dedicated personal injury attorneys at Hach & Rose, LLP have spent nearly 25 years fighting for the rights of injured New Yorkers. We have a proven track record of taking on powerful corporations and securing the compensation our clients deserve. Contact us today at (212) 779-0057 for a free and completely confidential consultation. We will listen to your story and explain your legal options. We work on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay no fees unless we win your case. Let us be your voice.
Ayuda Para Nuestra Comunidad de Habla Hispana
Descubrir que los productos que consume a diario podrían contener químicos tóxicos es alarmante. Entendemos que enfrentar esta situación y un sistema legal complejo es aún más difícil si el inglés no es su idioma principal.
Por eso, en nuestra firma contamos con un equipo que habla español, listo para escuchar su historia y explicar sus derechos de manera clara y respetuosa.
Su consulta siempre es gratuita y confidencial. No permita que la barrera del idioma le impida buscar la justicia que su familia merece por el daño causado por la negligencia de una corporación.