Yesterday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the publication of a final rule in the Federal Register that will ban three food-contact substances that are no longer manufactured. The substances were commonly used in sandwich wrappers, pizza boxes, microwave popcorn bags and other types of food packaging.
The three substances affected are: Diethanolamine salts of mono- and bis phosphates, Pentanoic acid, and Perfluoroalkyl--all variations of perfluoroalkyl ethyl. These substances were used as oil and water repellants for paper products used to package aqueous and fatty foods. Because there is “no longer a reasonable certainty of no harm”, the FDA concludes that they can no longer be used in food-contact substances. Their opinion is based on new data outlining the toxicity levels of each substance.