California Bill Would Curb Chemicals in Grease-Proof Packaging

A bill that would ban the use of food packaging containing perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), is working its way through the California legislature.

Senate Bill 1313 would require that from January 1st 2010 no person or company shall manufacture, sell or distribute any food contact substance that contains PFOS, PFOA, higher homologues, or precursors to these chemicals, in any concentration exceeding 10 parts per billion.

Food manufacturers would therefore have to find alternative, non-toxic, for any packaging containing perfluorochemicals (PFCs) and their precursors, which are used in stain and grease-proof packaging for products like microwave popcorn, sweets and candy, fast food and pizzas.

A statement issued by Senator Ellen Corbett, who introduced the bill last month, claimed that food packaging can be coated with perflourinated chemicals that, when heated, leach into the food product and break down into PFOA and PFOS, both of which are toxic.

The bill says that FDA scientists have noted that food packaging represents the worst case scenario for PFCs to migrate into food. In one FDA study packaging released several hundred times more PFCs than cookware coated with substances like Teflon (PFOA is used in the making of Teflon).

Read the full FoodProductionDaily.com story here.