Following on the heels of a study by the Silent Spring Institute suggesting that fast food paper and paperboard may contain poly or perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and that PFAS may pose safety or environmental concerns, California Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) has introduced a bill that would “prohibit a food provider from serving, selling, offering for sale, or offering for promotional purposes prepared food or fast food in, on, or with take-out food service ware or packaging that contains a fluorinated chemical.”

The definition of fluorinated chemical is much broader than PFAS.  The bill, AB-958, defines a fluorinated chemical as an organic or inorganic substance that contains at least one fluorine atom, including, but not limited to, a perfluorinated or polyfluorinated alkyl substance, fluorinated polymer, or fluorotelomer-based chemical.

The bill has been referred to California State Assembly’s Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials. Should the bill pass, it could greatly impact the food service industry’s ability to use paper packaging materials.  We are monitoring the bill’s progress.