Bill would ban ‘Teflon chemicals’ in food packaging

SACRAMENTO
March 4, 2008 3:00am

A bill to ban the use of chemicals used to make Teflon from being used in fast food packaging is making its way through the California Legislature.

French-fry containers, pizza boxes and many other types of food packages have stain-proof or grease-proof linings made with perfluorochemicals, called PFCs for short.

Perfluorochemicals and their precursors have been used in the manufacture of stain- and grease-proof coatings for a wide variety of consumer products for more than half a century, and are now found in human blood and wildlife worldwide, says the bill, authored by state Sen. Ellen Corbett of San Leandro .

(Download a copy of the bill by clicking on the link below.)

If it makes it into law, California would be the first state to ban PFCs in food packaging.

The bill, sponsored by Environmental Working Group, would prohibit more than trace amounts of PFCs called PFOS and PFOA in any material used to package food, beginning in 2010.

"Despite the fact that most consumers believe the packaging surrounding their food is safe, the reality is that many kinds of food packaging contain toxic chemicals that can cause harm to children's health and the environment," says Ms. Corbett.

Teflon itself was first approved for use in food containers in 1967 by the Food and Drug Administration.