PFAS in Food Packaging: What the EU Ban Means for Your Business

If your business wraps, boxes or trays food anywhere in the European Union, PFAS is no longer a chemistry problem. It is a purchasing problem. The EU has banned these substances in packaging that touches food. Get it right and you keep trading. Get it wrong and your packaging cannot be sold.

The good news is that this is fixable. You need to know what is banned, know which of your products are affected, and hold the paperwork to prove it. Here is what you need to know, and what to ask your suppliers.

What exactly is being banned?

PFAS stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a family of thousands of synthetic chemicals used to repel grease, oil and water. That is exactly why they ended up in foodservice packaging. A fluorinated coating keeps burger grease off a customer's hands and stops a sauce from soaking through a fibre bowl. The problem is that they barely break down, either in the environment or in our bodies. That is why people call them forever chemicals.

The ban comes from the EU's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, known as the PPWR (source). Food packaging cannot be sold in the EU if it hits or goes over any one of three limits:

•     25 parts per billion for any single PFAS compound,
•     250 parts per billion for all PFAS compounds combined,
•      or 50 parts per million of total fluorine unless you can show that fluorine comes from a non-PFAS source (source). That third limit is the one most teams miss, because it catches materials nobody thought to test.

Why is this rule so strict?

Most new chemical rules give you time. First a warning, then a window to sell whatever is already sitting in your stockroom. This one is different. From 12 August 2026, food packaging that goes over the PFAS limits cannot be sold in the EU, and there is no let-off for stock made before that date (source). A box of wraps made in 2024 is treated exactly the same as one made the week before the deadline.

The rule is the same in all 27 member states. It covers imported packaging too, not only packaging made inside the EU (source). So buying from outside Europe does not make the problem go away. It usually just makes it harder to check what you are really getting.

The part that catches people out is who gets the blame. The law puts it on whoever makes the packaging or brings it into the EU (source). If your group imports its own branded packaging, that is you. And if you buy through a distributor, you are still the one dealing with a recall in the middle of service, and with the damage to your name.

Which items in your kitchen are most at risk?

Not every product is affected. The risk sits in anything that has to hold back grease or moisture without a plastic film. Start by checking these:

·       Greaseproof wraps and burger papers. This is the classic job for a PFAS coating, and often the item you buy most of.

·       Moulded fibre bowls, trays and clamshells. Anything holding a hot, oily or saucy dish needs a barrier from somewhere. Ask what that barrier is.

·       Pizza boxes and bakery bags. Board on its own rarely keeps grease out, so something has usually been added.

·       Microwave and bake-in bags. Heat plus fat is the hardest test for any coating, so these are often treated.

·       Compostable and biobased ranges. Plant-based does not automatically mean PFAS-free, and some compostable ranges still have a PFAS coating (source).

What should you be asking your suppliers?

A verbal promise is not proof. If an inspector or a customer asks how you know your packaging is safe, you need the documents to hand. Make this part of how you buy, not a one-off job.

·       A written PFAS-free declaration. Ask for a document that says in plain terms that no PFAS are used (source).

·       Total fluorine test data. One of the three limits is about fluorine, so a promise about added PFAS alone does not answer the whole question.

·       Coating and additive detail. The ban covers coatings and additives, not just the base material. Clean board with a treated surface is still a problem.

·       Confirmation of any recent reformulation. Suppliers have been changing their coatings fast. A document from two years ago may not match what is in the box today.

·       Clarity on imported stock. If your supplier buys from abroad, ask how they check their own suppliers, rather than just passing the paperwork on.

What comes after the food packaging ban?

This is the first hard deadline on PFAS, not the last. A much wider ban is being worked on under the EU's chemicals rules, with expert committees due to give their opinions and a decision from the European Commission to follow (source). It could cover PFAS in many more products, with different deadlines for different sectors.

Individual countries are moving too. Several member states have already banned PFAS in things like cosmetics, clothing and footwear, and more rules are on the way (source). For a restaurant group, the takeaway is simple. The supplier checks, testing and paperwork you set up now are the same ones you will need next time, so it is worth doing properly.

There is money in it too. Demand for PFAS-free food packaging keeps growing as the rules tighten and customers ask harder questions about what their food is served in (source). Getting ahead of this gives you a cleaner story to tell, not just a box ticked.

The way forward

Treat this as a supply chain review, not a panic. List every item that touches food, rank them by how much grease and moisture they deal with, and start with the ones you buy most. Get the declarations and test data for each one, and keep them somewhere you can find them fast. If a product cannot be proven clean, swap it rather than hope.

Then look at the bigger opportunity. PFAS-free coatings, single-material packs and fibre alternatives have come a long way, and many now hold up on fast filling lines and with hot food. Choose well now and you can cut material, improve recycling and remove the legal risk in one go.

As MBA Green has over a decade's worth of expertise in sustainable packaging, trust us to help your business move to PFAS-free food packaging with confidence, without compromising on performance or on the experience your customers expect.