In an press release published on September 2, 2019, the Danish Ministry of Environment and Food announced that the Danish government will ban the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in paper and cardboard used in food contact materials by July 2020. “We will [ban them] because I will not accept the risk of these very harmful substances migrating from the packaging to the food. We can see that the substances represent a major health problem and we can no longer wait for the EU,” said Danish Food Minister Mogens Jensen.
The ministry announced previously that it was reviewing options for such a ban in February 2019 (FPF reported). In 2015, the Danish grocery store chain Coop voluntarily removed microwave popcorn from its shelves due to their PFAS content (FPF reported). Coop further pushed for new national legislation to ban all PFAS and bisphenols in 2017 (FPF reported; Coop Denmark presented during the Food Packaging Forum’s 2018 workshop). Recently, there have also been calls to ban PFAS in food packaging in the United States (FPF reported).
Read more
Danish Ministry of Environment and Food (September 2, 2019). “Fødevareministeren er klar til at forbyde fluorstoffer.” (in Danish)
Lars Dahlager (September 1, 2019). “Regeringen vil forbyde farlige stoffer i kageforme, pizzabakker og madpapir.” Politiken (in Danish)
DR (September 1, 2019). “Regeringen vil forbyde farlige stoffer i bagepapir.” (in Danish)
Clelia Oziel (September 4, 2019). “Denmark to ban all PFAS in paper and board food packaging.” Chemical Watch
Brian Bienkowski (September 4, 2019). “Denmark to ban PFAS in food packaging.” Environmental Health News
Rebecca Trager (September 10, 2019). “Denmark becomes first nation to outlaw fluorinated chemicals in food packaging.” Chemistry World
Keller and Heckman LLP (September 10, 2019). “Denmark to Ban Fluorinated Compounds in Paper and Paperboard Food Packaging Materials.”
Keller and Heckman LLP (November 12, 2019). “Denmark Notifies EC of Order to Ban PFAS in Paper FCMs.”
