PFAS 'Forever Chemicals' To Officially Be Removed from Food Packaging, FDA

[appalachiablue]

- PFAS 'forever chemicals' to officially be removed from food packaging, FDA says, LiveScience, March 5, 2024. Ed. 🥡🍟

New food packaging products sold in the U.S., such as takeout boxes and fast-food wrappers, will no longer contain harmful "forever chemicals" known as PFAS. Manufacturers will no longer use harmful "forever chemicals" in food packaging products in the U.S., according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In a statement released Feb. 28, the agency declared that grease-proofing materials that contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) will not be used in new food packaging sold in the U.S.

These include PFAS used in fast-food wrappers, microwave popcorn bags, takeout boxes and pet food bags.

The FDA's announcement marks the completion of a voluntary phase-out of the materials by U.S. food packaging manufacturers. This action will eliminate the "major source of dietary exposure to PFAS," Jim Jones, deputy commissioner for human foods at the FDA said. Companies told the FDA that it could take up to 18 months to completely exhaust the market supply of these products following their final date of sale. However, most of the affected manufacturers phased out the products faster than they initially predicted.

This FDA-led effort represents a positive step forward as we continue to reevaluate chemicals authorized for use with, and in, food," Jones said. "It underscores an important milestone in the protection of U.S. consumers from potentially harmful food-contact chemicals. "PFAS are a diverse group of synthetic chemicals that resist water, oil, heat and stains, which is why they've been used in a wide variety of products, incl. food packaging, household cleaners and nonstick cookware.

PFAS are super durable chemicals that can take years to break down, hence why they're often called "forever chemicals."

Once discarded, PFAS can leak into the environment as they slowly break down, accumulating in soil, rivers and lakes. The chemicals can also enter the body when people consume water or food that's been exposed to the chemicals during production or packaging, or when they breathe in dust tainted with PFAS. They can accumulate in a person's blood and in breast milk. Numerous studies have demonstrated the potential health effects of being exposed to different PFAS. The chemicals have linked to disruptions in the immune system, weight gain and decreased fertility in a mixture of animal and human studies...
https://www.livescience.com/health/food-diet/pfas-forever-chemicals-to-officially-be-removed-from-food-packaging-fda-says
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- Related: Scientists find a simple way to destroy 'forever chemicals'- by beheading them,
.. Forever chemicals, everywhere
PFAS compounds are found in a huge variety of products: from food packaging to shampoos to non-stick cookware and electronics...🍳 📟
https://www.livescience.com/pfas-forever-chemicals-broken-down

[RockRaven]

1. How many years has it been since it was known that ingestion of them was harmful?

[appalachiablue]

3. In use for decades, 80 yrs, a giant toxic mess. - PFAS, NIH:

NIH, 2021. - Introduction. Ed.

Since their invention in the 1930s and proliferation through the 1940s and 1950s, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been used in a variety of industries including firefighting foam, aerospace technologies and consumer products. By replacing carbon hydrogen bonds with carbon fluorine bonds, scientists created one of the strongest compounds in organic chemistry; one that has proved to be resistant to heat, water, oil, and time.

Although PFAS have since been identified as persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic, for decades they were lauded for their ability to protect firefighters and military personnel through enhanced firefighting foams that both extinguish fires and prevent reignition. Their stability in hostile environments also made PFAS attractive to the aerospace, construction, and electronics industries.

However, the use of PFAS in firefighting foams and the discharge from industrial sites has led to widespread PFAS contamination in the global water supply.

People are also exposed to PFAS through products in everyday living, including non-stick cookware, and food wrappers, as well as stain-resistant clothes and furniture. The exact number of unique PFAS compounds is unknown with estimates ranging between 4 and 5 thousand. The categorization of the compounds and maintaining a consistent classification system is critical to studying the impacts of PFAS on health and the environment.

Some of the most discussed and regulated PFAS compounds are depicted in Fig.1. For example, the most commonly studied group of perfluoroalkyl substances are perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs). Across the scientific literature, PFAAs are generally broken into 2 groups, those with 7 or more carbon-fluorine bonds (long-chain) and those with less than 7 bonds (small-chain). While long-chain PFAAs are a small proportion of the overall PFAS family, * long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) and long-chain perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids (PFSAs) are the focus of international, domestic, and local scientific study and regulation due to their adverse impacts on the environment and human health...
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8536021/#:~:text=Since%20their%20invention%20in%20the,aerospace%20technologies%20and%20consumer%20products.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

2. The fact pfa's

Have been in food packaging this long after being banned is insane.

When will food companies be held accountable for the adulterants, additives toxins,pesticides and the excessive sugar, fat and salt they put in our food?

These rich motherfuckers running these companies need to clean up thier shit or get thier corporate charters revoked. Fuck them.

[appalachiablue]

4. #3 In food, water, soil, wildlife, animals & us since 1940s. Toxic hell.