How States Are Taking Toxic Chemicals Out of Food Packaging and Leading the Nation Toward Safer Solutions

For years, the packaging used to hold our food—like wrappers, containers, and boxes —has been a hidden source of harmful endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). These toxic substances can interfere with our hormones and contribute to serious health problems, including cancer, infertility, and developmental issues. But that’s starting to change. Thanks to bold state leadership, corporate action, and growing public demand, safer food packaging options—free from certain harmful EDCs—are becoming more widely available across the country.

What are endocrine disrupting chemicals? 

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are chemicals that can interfere with our body’s endocrine system, which regulates critical functions from growth and development to metabolism and reproduction. Scientists are concerned that even at very low doses, EDCs can send the wrong signals to our bodies—mimicking, blocking, or altering natural hormones. These disruptions have been linked to serious health issues like cancer, infertility, and learning disabilities. EDCs are commonly found in everyday products, including food packaging.  Some examples include:

• PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances): used to make packaging materials grease and water resistant, these “forever chemicals” stay in our bodies, don’t break down in the environment, and are linked to a wide range of health problems.
• Phthalates: used in packaging materials to soften plastics and make them flexible and are linked to birth defects and cancer.
• Bisphenols (BPA, BPS, and others): used in packaging materials such as can linings and are linked to a host of health problems.

These chemicals don’t just stay in the packaging; they can leach into food, contaminate drinking water, and build up in our bodies over time. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals put into packaging pose unnecessary hazards and safer options are available.

State Leadership is Driving Safer Food Packaging 

Across the country, states are adopting policies to eliminate EDCs and other chemicals of concern in food packaging, creating momentum for safer alternatives.

• 12 states, including CA, CO, CT, HI, ME, MD, MN, NY, OR, RI, VT, and WA, have passed laws to phase out PFAS in food packaging.
• 13 states and the District of Columbia, including CA, CO, DE, HI, ME, MD, NJ, NY, OR, RI, VT, VA, and WA, have restricted the use of polystyrene in food packaging.
• Vermont and Maine have adopted policies to phase out phthalates from food packaging materials. Vermont also has the authority to regulate bisphenols in food packaging.
• Washington State under its Safer Products for Washington law gives the authority to the Department of Ecology to regulate high priority chemicals in products and packaging. The law has resulted in restrictions on bisphenols in drink cans and disclosure of bisphenols in food can linings.

The Market is Responding

Policy action is fueling momentum in the marketplace. Many companies—especially those operating in multiple states— are reformulating their products and packaging to meet new state standards and eliminate toxic chemicals. As a result, major retailers and brands like Whole Foods, McDonald’s, and Burger King have committed to phase out harmful toxic chemicals like PFAS.

This “rising tide” of state-level leadership is driving safer packaging nationwide, even in places without formal restrictions, as companies shift their entire supply chains to keep up.

What’s Next? 

States have proven that eliminating toxic chemicals in packaging—and replacing them with safer solutions— is not only possible, it’s already happening. But as scientific evidence continues to link endocrine disruptors to serious and widespread health harms, the urgency to act is growing. Policymakers and companies must move faster to:

1. Require transparency of ingredients in food packaging.
2. Phase out the most hazardous chemicals in food packaging, including carcinogens  and EDCs.
3. Promote and invest in safer solutions that protect health without harmful trade-offs.

Now is the time to act. By following the lead of states already making progress, we can build a future where no one is exposed to toxic chemicals in the packaging that touches their food and everyday products.