The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has decided with finality the non-use of at least three types of food additives or chemicals that are commonly used as oil or water repellants in containers such as pizza boxes and microwavable popcorn bags.
In its Monday ruling, the FDA announced the amendment of its previous regulation against three perfluoroalkyl ethyl containing food-contact substances (FCSs) as there's new evidence suggesting they can be potentially harmful to health.
The ruling is based on a petition submitted by different concerned relevant stakeholders such as the Natural Resources Defense Council, Breast Cancer Fund, Clean Water Action, and Environmental Working Group in 2014.
According to the FDA, these three chemicals possess extended alkyl chains with hydrogens changing into fluorine, making them PFCs (perfluorinated compounds).
In a 2010 review memorandum by the FDA, which the petitioners cited, the agency revealed that certain subsets of the PFC chain were linked to reproductive issues as well as birth defects. PFCs are also believed to be carcinogenic, Pollution in People mentioned in its official website.
The petitioners also asserted that since these FCSs transform into PFCs, they also have the same potential harmful effect on the human body, a point that the new amended rule sided with.
The ruling may be considered moot by manufacturers as many of them had ceased the manufacturing, sale, and use of such products, according to the 2010 memorandum.
Senior director for SPI, Kyra Mumbauer, for example, had stated that the new FDA action would have no impact on the association's members, who are manufacturers of PFCs, Bloomberg BNA reported.
The FDA, on the other hand, also stated that their review yielded insufficient evidence that there's migration of PFCs to food, which simply means they could not fully evaluate yet the level of exposure people have on these food-contact products.