EU caps ‘forever chemicals’ in food packaging

The EU has introduced strict limits on PFAS in food packaging, tackling chemicals that are handy at repelling grease but stubbornly resist breaking down

Often called “forever chemicals”, PFAS can persist in water, soil and the human body. Some have been linked to cancer, kidney disease and immune problems. Since 12 August, food-contact packaging sold across the EU bloc must stay below new concentration limits, covering items such as pizza boxes, bakery paper and takeaway containers.

The wider packaging law also responds to a mountain of waste that has grown by more than 20% in a decade. Europeans now generate about 180kg of packaging waste each year. Measures include deposit-return schemes for cans and plastic bottles, restrictions on unnecessary single-use packaging and rules to make packaging genuinely recyclable.

There is a sizeable asterisk: many of the strongest waste measures arrive in 2030, and countries are expected to give businesses time to correct early breaches. Still, restricting PFAS now begins cutting pollution at its source — before another stubborn chemical reaches our sandwiches, rivers or bodies.