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Rocket fuel and mac and cheese might have more in common than you ever imagined—so much so that you might be eating them. A new Consumer Reports investigation reveals a harsh chemical more commonly used by rockets, missiles, and explosives is making surprise appearances at your family’s dinner table, with potentially dangerous health consequences. It’s hardly a household name, but Perchlorate is a chemical that helps rockets reach for the stars and, alarmingly, also our dinner plates. Perchlorate can enter our food system through contaminated water used in crop irrigation, plastics used in food storage. How serious is the problem? Consumer Reports recent tests found perchlorate in two-thirds of food samples, with the highest levels in baby and kids food, fast food, and fresh produce – such as boxed mac and cheese and baby rice cereal, and even in some seemingly healthier options like cucumbers and baby carrots.