Mounting evidence on the detrimental health and environmental effects of persistent per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has led to a tightening regulatory environment over the past years. Food packaging is a key focus of several recent and upcoming PFAS restrictions, reflecting concerns that the chemicals are transferred from packaging to food and are further ingested by consumers.
This article summarizes PFAS regulations on food packaging and other contact materials in the EU and the US. Compliance testing options, accounting for the technical infeasibility of detecting thousands of PFAS compounds individually, will also be discussed.
EU restrictions on PFAS in food packaging
PFAS use in food packaging must comply with general EU chemicals legislation, including the Persistent Organic Pollutant (POP) and REACH Regulations. These restrict the use of PFAS generally considered the most hazardous, such as PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, and related compounds. Restricted PFAS must not be present in food packaging or other consumer products in concentrations above trace contaminant levels.1
The use of certain other PFAS compounds in food packaging and other contact materials is still allowed in the EU, subject to restrictions outlined in harmonized or national regulations. For plastic materials, the allowed PFAS compounds and the conditions for using them are specified in Annex I of Regulation (EU) No 10/2011. Use is mostly authorized for repeated-use materials rather than single-use packaging.
For materials without harmonized EU-level legislation, such as paper and board, rubber, and coatings, PFAS may be used as authorized in national law, such as German, French, and Dutch food contact regulations.2
Upcoming ban under the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation
The European Parliament recently accepted the new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which will likely enter into force in the near future. The PPWR will introduce a full ban on PFAS in food packaging, based on the reasoning that PFAS exposure through food contact materials presents “an unacceptable risk for human health”.
The restriction specified in the PPWR will ban any food packaging that contains PFAS in concentrations at or above the following:
25 ppb for any compound measured with targeted PFAS analysis
250 ppb for the sum of PFAS measured with targeted analysis
50 ppm for total fluorine originating from PFAS sources
The regulation defines PFAS as “any substance that contains at least one fully fluorinated methyl (CF3-) or methylene (-CF2-) carbon atom (without any H/Cl/Br/I attached to it)”, except when they contain certain structural elements.3 It does not, however, list compounds that should be included in the targeted PFAS analysis.
Restrictions on PFAS in food packaging in the US
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announced in February 2024 that food packaging manufacturers had agreed to no longer sell PFAS-containing grease-proof packaging following a voluntary phase-out. In the same news release, the FDA stated that it is developing a validated analytical method for PFAS monitoring.4
In addition to the voluntary national phase-out, several states have introduced formal prohibitions on PFAS in food packaging. These include California, Colorado, Minnesota, New York, and Washington, among others.
Apart from California, the state-level regulations do not outline compliance criteria, such as PFAS compounds that should be monitored or concentration limits that should not be exceeded. According to the Californian Health & Safety Code § 109000, PFAS presence is to be measured as total organic fluorine (TOF), and TOF content must not exceed 100 ppm.5
How can compliance be assessed?
From a compliance testing perspective, the challenge with both EU and US restrictions on PFAS in food packaging is the absence of full compliance criteria, particularly regarding substances that should be included in a targeted analysis. This can make it difficult for manufacturers to convincingly demonstrate that their food packaging is PFAS-free.
Measurlabs has extensive experience working with packaging manufacturers to verify the absence of PFAS. Our recommended approach is to combine TOF analysis with targeted screening of at least 20+ PFAS compounds with LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS. Together, these tests can be used to show that total organic fluorine content falls below the 50 ppm or 100 ppm thresholds and that the material does not contain high-profile PFAS in detectable amounts.
You can get a quote for testing your company’s material by contacting us through the form below. For a customer reference, see this story about how we helped Nordic biobased packaging innovator Sulapac verify the absence of PFAS in their products.
References
1 See Annex I of Regulation (EU 2019/1021 on persistent organic pollutants for the exceptions and specifications of bans on PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, and related substances.
2 Section 5.1 in a report on Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in food contact material by the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment.
3 Article 5.2a. of the proposed PPWR specifies the conditions of the restriction and defines PFAS.
4 FDA news release: FDA, Industry Actions End Sales of PFAS Used in US Food Packaging. Other contact materials, such as non-stick pots and pans, are still authorized to contain PFAS, as long as the migration potential is low.
5 Cal. Health & Saf. Code § 109000