The FDA has announced that certain food packaging containing PFAS “forever” chemicals will no longer be sold in the US. This is a good step, but we need the agency to do more. Action Alert!
THE TOPLINE
- The FDA has overseen a voluntary phase-out of grease-proofing substances containing PFAS chemicals.
- This is a good step, but the FDA could do much more, for instance by releasing the next data set in its Total Diet Study—the most recent data only go up to 2020.
- The more we learn about PFAS contamination for human health and the environment, the worse it gets. We need a full ban now!
This is a major victory for ANH-USA members and other stakeholder who have been holding the government’s feet to the fire on this very important environmental health issue. The FDA recently announced that grease-proofing substances containing Per and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are no longer being sold by manufacturers for food contact use in the U.S. market. The FDA’s statement says that this “voluntary market phase-out…eliminates the primary source of dietary exposure to PFAS from authorized food contact uses.” This means that popcorn bags, take-out paperboard containers, and pet food bags will no longer contain PFAS.
This is a positive step and couldn’t have happened without sustained grassroots pressure generated by ANH advocates and other stakeholders, but we need to keep up the pressure. The FDA says that this is a primary source of dietary exposure to PFAS, but we would have a more complete picture if the agency released the next iteration of its Total Diet Study results—the latest data we have are from 2018-2020. According to this data, the FDA has yet to find evidence of PFAS contamination in vegetables, even though our own independent testing found PFAS in all samples of supermarket kale.
>>>Read our report finding PFAS in supermarket kale and related cover here.
It’s concerning that the FDA has yet to release any updated data from the Total Diet Study. Are they worried how the public will react?
For some time now, we’ve been sounding the alarm about the extensive contamination of the environment with PFAS chemicals and what that means for human health. PFAS are a group of chemicals used in hundreds of consumer products. They are nicknamed “forever chemicals” because they do not break down in the environment and accumulate in blood and organs, causing a host of negative health effects. Studies have found that the drinking water for tens of millions of Americans is contaminated with these chemicals.
We believe this is a ticking time bomb for human health. With each passing day, it seems, we’re finding out more and more about these chemicals, and the news isn’t good. A recent study, for example, found a range of foods to be drivers of high PFAS levels, including teas, pork, candy, sports drinks, processed meats, butter, chips, and bottled water.
Let’s keep up the pressure and fight for a full ban on these chemicals.
Action Alert! Write to Congress and urge them to issue a ban on PFAS chemicals as a class. Please send your message immediately.
