More Than 1,000 Food Packaging Chemicals Carry Health Hazards, While Most Remain Poorly Studied, Scientists Warn

The plastic wrap around a sandwich, the coating inside a food can, or the container holding a takeaway meal may seem like little more than a barrier between food and the outside world.

But that packaging can contain chemicals that move into food, and scientists say thousands of substances used in food-contact materials still have an incomplete safety record.