Are there toxic chemicals in your grocery store receipt?

“Would you like your receipt?”

It’s a question you’re likely to hear every time you pop into the grocery store or stop for a latte on the way to work. Some people may also have heard warnings that have circulated for more than 15 years that if you say yes, toxic chemicals might rub off on your fingertips.

As a recent example, a 2025 study from the Center for Environmental Health, a nonprofit advocacy organization focused on toxic chemicals in consumer products, claimed that holding a paper receipt for only 10 seconds could result in exposure to unsafe levels of toxic chemicals.

Could something so commonplace really be slowly poisoning people?

I am a medical toxicologist – a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of poisoning. I see patients in my clinic for everything from severe lead poisoning to questions about exposure to chemicals that are mostly harmless.

Receipts are printed on a special type of paper – thermal paper – which often contains chemicals called bisphenols. These chemicals are potentially – but not necessarily – toxic. So, like many questions in toxicology, the answer to whether receipts are dangerous to handle is: It depends.

What are bisphenols and where are they found?

Bisphenols are human-made chemicals that have been widely used in industrial manufacturing since the 1950s.

Several different types exist, each with a letter standing for the chemical they are made from. The bisphenol produced using a molecule called acetone is called bisphenol A, or BPA. Bisphenol S (BPS) is made using a sulfur atom, and bisphenol F (BPF) is made using formaldehyde.

These chemicals are used to create a type of transparent and shatter-resistant plastic called polycarbonate, found in products including hard plastic water bottles, food storage containers and eyeglass lenses. Bisphenols are also ingredients in epoxy resins, which are used to coat the inside of bottle caps and metal food and drink containers. Some products still use these chemicals, though many manufacturers have phased them out.

Thermal receipt paper uses bisphenol – usually BPA or BPS – as a developer. The bisphenol is combined with a colorless ink and applied as a microscopic, heat-sensitive film to the paper. Instead of using ink, a receipt printer applies heat to this thermal paper, causing the bisphenol and the dye to react and changing the dye from colorless to black. Fax machines, back in the day, also relied on this technology.

How do bisphenols affect the human body?

Toxicologists classify bisphenols as toxins called endocrine disruptors. This means that they interfere with the body’s endocrine system, which controls vital body functions like growth, reproduction and metabolism.

The endocrine system includes multiple organs, including the thyroid, pancreas and pituitary gland, which is a tiny structure at the base of the brain. These organs send messages throughout the body to control many vital functions, and the molecules that carry that message are called hormones.

Most research on bisphenol toxicity has focused on BPA. Research shows that BPA interrupts the messaging sent through multiple hormones, but most notably through estrogen.

Many people think of estrogen as the “female” hormone, but all people make estrogen, no matter what sex chromosomes they have. Estrogen helps control the growth and development of organs as they first form during fetal development, among other important roles in the body.

That’s why exposure to endocrine disruptors is potentially more serious for a developing fetus than it is for adults. BPA exposure has been linked to preterm birth and abnormal fetal brain development

Exposure to high amounts of BPA could also increase a person’s chances of developing heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and other health problems. Research also shows that BPA can cause oxidative stress – chemical damage to the molecules that make up cells. Exposure to BPA might also cause changes to how genes are turned on or off, and some of these changes can be passed on to future generations.

These findings have led to a ban on BPA in Europe. In the United States, its use is banned in baby bottles, but no ban exists for most other products. However, many manufacturers have voluntarily replaced BPA with alternative chemicals – you have probably seen plastic products advertised as “BPA free.”

Unfortunately, companies often simply switch out BPA for another bisphenol, such as BPS, and it turns out that BPS shares much of its cousin molecule’s toxic traits. Recently, though, concern about all bisphenols has led many companies to move away from them entirely.

Research has also shown that bisphenols can be absorbed through the skin – for example, when handling a receipt printed on thermal paper. Touching bisphenols with greasy hands, perhaps because you’ve just applied moisturizer or hand sanitizer, can increase absorption through the skin.

What’s the dose?

You have probably heard the old saying “the dose makes the poison.” This is a foundational principle of toxicology originally written by the Swiss physician and chemist Paracelsus in 1538.

Consider the classic poison cyanide. A dose capable of killing an average person weighs less than 10 grains of rice. However, the human body actually makes tiny amounts of cyanide every day. A natural detoxification system clears it out of the body so it causes no harm.

Similarly, though we all require a fair amount of water every day to survive, there is such a thing as water toxicity. Too much water can cause your brain to swell and can be fatal, as several tragic cases over the years have shown.

In 2023, researchers estimated the daily “dose” of exposure to BPA from thermal paper receipts and found levels somewhere between about 5,000 to 50 million times lower than European Food Safety Authority standards. That’s less than one drop in an 8-ounce glass of water.

That said, this estimate is for the average person. Retail, food service and other workers who handle many receipts every day would be exposed to doses about 100 times higher than that, the researchers estimated. This is potentially more concerning, but still probably well below safety standard levels.

Bisphenols are found in many products and do have potential to harm our health, but most human exposure to these chemicals comes from food or beverages packaged in containers made with bisphenols. Exposure from handling receipts is a small piece of the pie.

Taking reasonable precautions

The upshot is that for most people, handling receipts is a pretty low-risk activity. But if you’re concerned, you can take a few straightforward precautions.

People who handle receipts at work could protect themselves by avoiding the use of sanitizer and other skin care products on their hands before work, wearing gloves or encouraging their employer to use bisphenol-free thermal paper.

People who might be sensitive to endocrine effects of bisphenols – pregnant people, infants, children and those with certain endocrine diseases – might want to avoid contact with thermal paper receipts.

For people outside of these sensitive groups, handling a receipt is probably a very low-risk activity. But if you are concerned, some commonsense strategies that could minimize your exposure include opting for emailed receipts when available, or tucking a printed receipt into a bag or pocket rather than holding on to it for a prolonged period of time.

Personally, I avoid paper receipts for the most part – I don’t like making extra trash.