PFAS in food packaging: the August 2026 ban with no sell-through period

A broad scope: anything touching the food

The ban targets any packaging in direct contact with food: paper and board coatings, inner films, wrappers, trays and containers. PFAS were used there for their grease- and water-repellent properties, notably in foodservice and fatty-product packaging.

The thresholds are among the strictest in the world and are measured as total PFAS, quantifiable PFAS and organic fluorine — three criteria to document.

The burden of proof is on you

It is the manufacturer's job to prove compliance. A simple "no added PFAS" claim is not enough: you need supplier data on coating composition and, often, testing. PFAS can also be present unintentionally through process contamination.

The blind spot: packaging data

Most product repositories describe the recipe in detail but the packaging poorly: layer structure, coatings, inks, suppliers. Yet that is exactly where PFAS compliance is decided. Without structured data, the portfolio audit is done SKU by SKU, by hand.

What this means for your product data

Reaching compliance means knowing, for every SKU, the exact composition of each packaging component and its proof of PFAS-free status — then instantly knowing which SKUs are exposed.

A PLM that structures packaging at the same level as the recipe lets you map affected components, attach supplier certificates and track the 12 August 2026 deadline as a compliance milestone. crumble-ai makes packaging first-class product data, continuously assessed.