(Washington) Materials containing harmful chemicals called “perennial pollutants” (PFAS) used to make popcorn wrappers and other microwaveable fatty foods are no longer sold in the United States, state regulators announced Wednesday. country.
In 2020, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) obtained a commitment from manufacturers to stop selling these chemicals for food packaging in order to protect public health.
Manufacturers have respected their commitment to no longer sell materials containing these PFAS, used as anti-fat agents in food packaging, said Jim Jones, deputy commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“This means that the main source of dietary exposure to PFAS is from food packaging such as fast food packaging, microwave popcorn bags, cardboard takeout food containers, and food packets. “animal feed, is being eliminated,” he detailed in a press release.
It would take more than a year for food packaging containing PFAS already on the market to be exhausted.
According to the FDA, “perennial pollutants” are resistant to grease, oil, water and heat, which explains their use in the food industry.
But they can have serious consequences, repeated Jim Jones, their nickname being linked to the fact that they are very little degradable once in the environment and, for some, to their lasting harmful effect on health.