Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have been extensively utilized across various industrial and consumer sectors since the 1950s, due to their useful properties, including low surface energy and durable water- and oil-repellency, and finding application in a number of products, ranging from food packaging to firefighting foams. By taking into account a recent study, published by the American Chemical Society, on the migration of PFASs in food packaging materials, we analyze PFASs and their characteristics, while exploring their potential health risks and governing EU regulations.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Understanding PFASs
PFASs are a large group of chemicals, widely used in industrial and consumer applications for over 70 years, usually where extremely low surface energy or surface tension and/or durable water- and oil-repellency is needed, e.g., chromium metal plating, various fire-fighting foams, food contact packaging or for surface treatment of textiles, carpets and papers.
PFASs consist of a fully (per) or partly (poly) fluorinated carbon chain connected to different functional groups. Based on the length of the fluorinated carbon chain, short and long chain PFASs can be distinguished.
The Research
The research maps the evidence on PFASs detected in migrates and extracts of food contact materials and provides an overview of available hazard and biomonitoring data. Based on the FCCmigex database, 68 PFASs have been identified in various food contact materials, including paper, plastic, and coated metal, by targeted and untargeted analyses. 87 % of these PFASs belong to the perfluorocarboxylic acids and fluorotelomer-based compounds. In addition, trends in chain length demonstrate that long-chain perfluoroalkyl acids continue to be found, despite years of global efforts to reduce the use of these substances.
Health Risks
Despite PFASs’ unique chemistry having made many aspects of modern life more convenient, their molecular properties, have also granted them harmful qualities, including persistence, raising alarms due to their universal presence as contaminants in food, drinking water, and the environment.
In the decades following their introduction at 1950s, PFASs such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) were identified in human samples. Today, many PFASs have been found worldwide in both humans and wildlife. A number of harmful health effects, including cancer, thyroid illness, a reduced ability to respond to vaccinations, and elevated cholesterol, have been related to exposure to certain PFASs.
Given the enormity of this class of compounds, however, exposure and hazard data are still extremely limited for most PFASs. Moreover, the study highlights that most of what is known about the toxicity of PFASs that has come from studies of some older PFASs that have, for instance, been banned from production in the US from the early 2000s. Since then, other PFASs have entered the market, of which there are little to no publicly available data on their hazards and/or risks to human and environmental health.
Moreover, the study indicated that removing PFASs from FCMs will require broader and more enforceable actions from regulators and other stakeholders, and refers to the example of the recent development of PFAS-free molded fiber with cellulose nanomaterials, highlighting that alternatives to PFAS in food packaging are possible.
Regulatory Action
The study compiles evidence for 68 PFASs that have been detected in migrates and extracts of FCMs. From these 68 PFASs, only seven were listed in global FCM regulations and industry inventories as intentional starting substances of FCMs. This means that almost 90 % of these PFASs were either reaction or degradation products, impurities, or added during manufacturing without having been included in any of the FCM lists of authorized uses included in the FCCdb.
In addition, there are little to no toxicity data available for many of the PFASs detected in FCMs, which marks a large gap in knowledge about their potential health and environment risks.
EU Regulations on PFASs
Efforts to regulate PFASs have gained momentum globally, with various legislative measures aimed at restricting their usage. The European Union has implemented stringent regulations under the Stockholm Convention and the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) framework, targeting the elimination and restriction of PFASs in consumer products
The national authorities of Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden proposed a restriction covering a wide range of PFAS uses – in support of the statements made in the Environment Council in December 2019. They submitted their proposal to ECHA in January 2023. On February of 2023, ECHA published a comprehensive dossier concerning a ban on around 10,000 PFAS substances. The ban is to be implemented under Regulation (EU) No 1907/2006 (“REACH”). An initial open consultation has been completed, and ECHA’s scientific committees are now examining the potential impacts of the restriction proposal.
PFASs and the PPWR
Among the changes happened in 2024 to the packaging and packaging waste regulation (PPWR), was the restriction of food contact packaging containing intentionally added per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs), and its placement on the market.
In the recent provisional political agreement on a proposal for the PPWR, the requirements for substances in packaging were reinforced, by introducing a restriction on the market-placing of food contact packaging containing PFASs above certain thresholds. To avoid any overlap with other pieces of legislation, the co-legislators tasked the Commission with assessing the need to amend that restriction within four years of the date of application of the regulation.
Conclusion
PFASs pose significant health risks and environmental challenges, which call for robust legislative measures and concerted efforts from stakeholders. Despite the fact that these chemicals have been subject to regulation, more extensive research and proactive legislative actions are necessary to lessen the harmful effects they may have on human and environmental health. By fostering collaboration between policymakers, industry stakeholders, and the scientific community, we can hope in creating safer, PFAS-free products for both consumers and the environment.
