On June 9th, 2026, the No Toxics in Food Packaging Act , proposing to prohibit several classes of chemicals from food packaging and food processing materials, was introduced. The bill was introduced by Senator Richard Blumenthal and Representatives Jan Schakowsky and Rosa DeLauro, with nearly a dozen co-sponsors and has the backing of a broad coalition of public health and environmental organisations including the Environmental Defense Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council. The legislation is the most recent in a series of attempts to establish a federal floor for chemical safety in food contact materials, an area that has largely been regulated at state level in the absence of comprehensive federal action.
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What the Bill Proposes
The No Toxics in Food Packaging Act would amend Section 409 of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to deem five categories of substances unsafe for use as food contact materials. These are PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), ortho-phthalates, bisphenols including BPA and related compounds, styrene polymers and antimony trioxide. The mechanism is a deemed-unsafe designation, meaning that rather than requiring regulators to prove harm substance by substance through the existing food additive petition process, the bill would establish by statute that these chemical classes do not meet the safety standard required for food contact authorization.
Once enacted, companies would have two years to remove the targeted substances from food packaging and food processing materials. The bill applies to all food contact materials, including reusable and pre-filled food and beverage containers, not just single-use packaging.
Addressing Regrettable Substitution
One of the more technically significant provisions in the bill is its explicit treatment of regrettable substitution, the well-documented pattern in which a restricted substance is replaced by a structurally similar alternative with an equally uncertain or problematic safety profile. The bill requires the FDA, when assessing any petition for an alternative food contact substance, to consider potential adverse effects on vulnerable populations including pregnant women, infants, children, the elderly and workers exposed through production or handling.
The bill also does not seek to preempt existing state-level legislation. Several states have already enacted PFAS restrictions on food packaging. The federal bill, if enacted, would establish a national baseline without displacing the existing state frameworks.
The Legislative Context
This is not the first time the No Toxics in Food Packaging Act has been introduced. An earlier version was put forward in October 2023 under the 118th Congress but did not advance. The 2026 reintroduction reflects both the continued political salience of food contact chemical safety and the growing cross-party visibility of the issue.
The bill also arrives in a context where the FDA has taken several recent steps that move in a broadly similar direction, including a scientific evaluation of the eight phthalates currently authorized as plasticizers for food contact use and an announcement of an upcoming postmarket safety assessment of food contact uses of phthalates.
Conclusion
The No Toxics in Food Packaging Act represents a significant legislative statement about the direction of US federal food contact chemical policy, even if its immediate prospects for enactment in the current Congress are uncertain. Businesses already investing in PFAS-free, BPA-free and phthalate-free formulations for European compliance are well-positioned to respond if the US regulatory landscape shifts in the same direction.
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