What are PFAS and what would legislation to restrict or ban it mean?

Introduction

You may have heard of PFAS, and that the EU is discussing banning it. In this article, we’ll look at what it is, why it’s an issue and what the publication of legislation may mean to the food industry.

What is PFAS?

PFAS stands for ‘per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances’.

PFAS isn’t just one chemical, it’s actually a group of synthetic chemicals. Synthetic means that they’ve not been naturally created, but they’ve been man made. A group of chemicals is classed a ‘class’.

EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) states that there are nearly 15,000 chemicals in the PFAS class.

These chemicals have a similar molecular structure – they all have at least one aliphatic perfluorocarbon moiety.

Why are PFAS an issue?

PFAS chemicals are linked to many health problems including:

• Fertility issues.
• Pregnancy problems.
• Liver damage.
• Kidney disease.
• Suppression of the immune system.
• Thyroid function problems.
• Endocrine disruption which impacts the body’s ability to manage hormones properly.
• Problems caused by dysregulation of lipids and insulin.

What is PFAS used for?

PFAS are used in many, many products, but in the food industry specifically, it’s found in:

• Packaging.
• Food contact equipment.
• Cleaning chemicals.

Where can PFAS be found?

PFAS are known as ‘forever chemicals’ because they are thought to take over a thousand years to break down.

This means that the more PFAS that are synthetically made, the more PFAS there is in the environment around us. And they don’t break down, this means that they are found everywhere – and we mean everywhere!

PFAS have been found in:

• Water systems all over the world.
• Wildlife.
• The human body; in our blood, in semen and even in breast milk.
• Soil and produce.

Because the amount of PFAS in the environment is growing every day and it’s in the water system, it’s all around us and in the food that we eat – either directly (because it’s been grown in a contaminated environment) or indirectly (because it’s been processed using contaminated equipment).

This means that each of us are contaminated internally with PFAS, and the amount inside us is increasing every day. We also pass it on to our children, so that their starting contamination level is higher than ours, when we were born. Then, as they go through life it only increases – because remember it takes thousands of years for PFAS to degrade.

Legislation

The EU aims to phase out PFAS chemicals. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) published a proposal in February 2023 to restrict the use of PFAS in consumer products. A 6-month consultation has been completed and the feedback from this has been reviewed.

On 19^th March 2025 ECHA shared their tentative plan for PFAS restriction.

They’re going to focus on medical devices, lubricants, transport, energy, electronics and semiconductors in June. Then, in July, they’ll continue to look at electronics and semiconductors, plus any remaining applications.

It looks like the legislation will include classification and labelling of PFAS, so that consumers can make an informed choice.

What does this mean for the food industry?

The legislation is going to focus on consumer products, so it’s unclear at the moment how this will indirectly impact the food industry.

However, it would be easy to imagine that many of the consumer products used in the food industry (for example, lubricants) would be impacted.

Non-stick materials are a source of PFAS and would heavily impact our industry. Looking at the proposal, it’s unclear where these would sit – unless they are classed as a lubricant.

We would also imagine that testing of food for PFAS contamination levels would be introduced, so that we can at least start to see the scale of the problem.

There is no doubt that if this legislation goes ahead it’s going to have massive consequences. But it’s very early days and so full implications are not yet known. Watch this space!

Smart Knowledge Plus

If you’d like to be the first to know when legislation is published about PFAS, or any other food industry related regulations, then you need to join Smart Knowledge Plus.

Members of Smart Knowledge Plus are informed on key changes to:

• Food industry guidelines and standards.
• New risks relating to product defence.
• Legislation which is relevant to the product you produce – for both the local country and the country where the product will be sold.