FDA Issues Import Alert for Food Products with Chemical Contaminants Including PFAS

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a new import alert for human food products with detectable levels of chemical contaminants that may present a safety concern to human health. The Import Alert 99-48, Detention without Physical Examination of Foods Due to Chemical Contamination, gives the FDA the ability to help prevent entry of human food products into the U.S. if they are found to be contaminated with a broad range of human-made chemicals including benzene, dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and...

FDA, Industry Actions End Sales of PFAS Used in US Food Packaging

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is announcing that grease-proofing materials containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are no longer being sold for use in food packaging in the U.S. This means the major source of dietary exposure to PFAS from food packaging like fast-food wrappers, microwave popcorn bags, take-out paperboard containers and pet food bags is being eliminated.

PFAS are a diverse group of thousands of chemicals that resist grease, oil, water and heat. The FDA has authorized certain PFAS for limited...

REPORTER: PFAS: What Are They And Why Are They Important?

This article was originally featured in the WINTER 2024 Edition of Urner Barry’s Reporter magazine. 

PFAS is a growing acronym that is becoming more well known around the media and within the industry. It stands for Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances; a group of manufactured chemicals that have been used in industry products for quite some time. There are thousands of these chemicals and substances and some of them are more used than others, and have more information and research than others.

The major issue with these chemicals is...