“New York has placed restrictions on state agency purchasing of food containers containing perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) or polystyrene.
The action was agreed at a meeting of the state’s interagency committee on sustainability and green procurement on 20 April.
Committee members gave final approval to a green specification on food service containers and wrappers, which also makes significant changes to the executive order on state green procurement and agency sustainability (EO4).
In response, the NGO, Clean and Healthy New York issued a statement saying there is ‘mounting evidence of the presence of PFAS in food service products’ and increasing purchaser demand for healthier food ware products.
‘New York’s leadership will help propel efforts by leading manufacturers to find less-toxic alternatives, shift the market to those better alternatives and accelerate the broader national market change we need,’ it said.
But the chemical industry trade association, FlouroCouncil, objected to the move, saying the use of PFASs is already ‘thoroughly regulated’ by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The agency has determined that those currently used in food packaging are safe for their intended use.”
Read the full article from Chemical Watch