Maine Bill Aims to Ban Certain Food Packaging Chemicals

The Maine Legislature has passed a bill aimed at prohibiting the sale of food packaging with certain potentially toxic chemicals.

The Senate on Tuesday sent the bill to Governor Janet Mills, who has pushed to explore contamination risks from per- and polyfluoroalykyl substances, known as PFAS. The Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to place legal limits on the chemicals that have long been used in consumer products, but hasn’t yet done so.

DuPont created the chemicals in 1938. They were first used for nonstick cookware. Maine’s bill could ban the sale of food packaging with PFAS by 2022, but only if the state finds safer alternatives.

Maine’s bill also allows state regulators to decide whether to ban other chemicals found in food packaging.

Opponents call Maine’s bill too broad.