FDA Announces Formal End to PFAS in Food Packaging Products

On February 28th, 2024, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officially announced an end to per- and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS) in food packaging. This effects potential exposure to these harmful substances from materials like “fast-food wrappers, microwave popcorn bags, take-out paperboard containers and pet food bags”. This update, which the FDA describes as a public health victory achieved in cooperation with industry manufacturers’ commitments to voluntarily phase out these packagings, comes at an interesting time in consumer litigation. In the past several years, PFAS’ presence in consumer products has been a consistent topic of class action complaints leading to significantly varied outcomes depending on the strictness of state regulation on the substances. This new policy comes as FDA testing for PFAS in food products continues to expand (see Constituent Update, FDA Update on PFAS Activities | FDA), and could prove useful in attempts to bolster claims regarding PFAS as both a government regulatory priority as well as a tacit admission from many bulk manufacturers as to the dangers PFAS present in consumer products.  

The full text of the announcement can be found here: https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-industry-actions-end-sales-pfas-used-us-food-packaging.