Anonymous Slashdot reader shared this article live science:
Manufacturers will no longer use harmful “permanent chemicals” in U.S. food packaging products, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
In a statement issued on February 28, the agency declared that oil-resistant materials containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) will not be used in new food packaging sold in the United States. . These include PFAS used in fast food wrappers and microwave popcorn bags, takeout boxes and pet food bags. The FDA's announcement marks the completion of a voluntary phase-out of the material by U.S. food packaging manufacturers.
Jim Jones, the FDA's deputy commissioner for human foods, said in a related statement that the action would eliminate “a major source of dietary exposure to PFAS.” The companies told the FDA that it could take up to 18 months from the date of last sale for these products to completely exhaust the market supply. However, most of the affected manufacturers phased out their products sooner than originally expected, the agency noted.
The FDA's new announcement represents a “huge victory for the public,” Graham Peaslee, a physics professor at the University of Notre Dame who studies PFAS, told The Washington Post.
