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Lawmakers in California, US, have passed a bill to ban products that contain ‘intentionally added’ per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – widely known as ‘forever chemicals’.

PFAS are often used in water-resistant treatments and non-stick coatings, across applications ranging from food packaging to cookware, cleaning products and electronics.

They are known as ‘forever chemicals’ as they do not degrade easily, enabling them to build up in the environment for hundreds to even thousands of years.

These chemicals have been linked to a range of serious health concerns including cancer, altered immune function and fertility issues.

In California, the recently passed Senate Bill 682 seeks to phase out the use of PFAS in consumer goods products. Authored by Senator Ben Allen, the bill has now cleared the state legislature and is being passed to Governor Gavin Newsom for his signature by 12 October 2025.

If enacted, a wide range of consumer goods containing intentionally added PFAS, including food packaging and plastic foodware, would be banned from sale and distribution beginning in 2028. Stores would also be banned from selling cookware containing intentionally added PFAS, such as some non-stick pans, as of 2030.

The bill would add to PFAS restrictions already in place in the state – California has already implemented bans on PFAS in paper-based food packaging as well as textiles, cosmetics, menstrual products, firefighting foam and certain children’s items.

Senate Bill 682 has received mixed responses, with advocates of the ban noting its potential to reduce unnecessary exposure to toxic chemicals in consumer products.

Susan Little, California legislative director for The Environmental Working Group, a co-sponsor of the bill, commented: “This bill is a long overdue step toward protecting Californians from unnecessary exposure to ‘forever chemicals’ in everyday products. We applaud Sen. Allen for championing this important public health initiative, which will eliminate major routes of exposure to these toxic chemicals.”

However, the California Chamber of Commerce has warned that the bill risks ‘creating far-reaching economic, regulatory and environmental consequences in the state’ due to its ‘overgeneralisation’ of PFAS chemistry.

It argues that some PFAS-containing materials play a key role in the development of vital products like electric vehicle batteries, solar panels, conduits and surgical devices, which could be impacted by a sweeping ban.

In the context of food and beverage packaging, however, many manufacturers have already removed added PFAS from their packaging materials where possible in line with the evolving regulatory landscape. Ten other US states, including New York and Colorado, have already implemented laws addressing PFAS chemicals in certain food packaging materials.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced last year that grease-proofing substances containing PFAS, historically used in paper and paperboard-based packaging, are no longer being sold by manufacturers for food contact use in the US market following the introduction of a voluntary phase-out initiative in 2020.