PERSISTENT POLLUTANTS
FDA raises concerns
about PFAS in food
Some fluorination processes can lead to PFAS
leaching into food from polyethylene containers
The US Food and Drug Administration is
reminding manufacturers that only certain
processes are allowed for fluorinating
polyethylene containers used to store
food. The warning comes after reports
earlier this year of toxic per- and polyfluo-
roalkyl substances (PFAS) migrating into
pesticides stored in fluorinated high-den-
sity polyethylene containers.
In an Aug. 5 letter to industry, the FDA
clarifies that fluorinated polyethylene con-
tainers used for food storage can only be
made using fluorine gas in the presence of
nitrogen to modify the surface of a molded
container. Fluorination in the presence of
water, oxygen, or inert gases other than
nitrogen is not allowed because such pro-
cesses can lead to the formation of toxic
perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids that can mi-
grate into food, the agency says. Fluorina-
tion of polyethylene food containers during
the molding process is also prohibited.
The FDA claims that it sent the let-
ter out of an abundance of caution, not
because it is aware of any unauthorized
fluorinated polyethylene containers being
made to store food. “It is important to
note that there is no evidence of unlawful
RESEARCH FUNDING
NSF seeks to improve geographic
diversity in funding
The US National Science Foundation has
announced members of a committee to
envision the future of the Established
Program to Stimulate Competitive Re-
search (EPSCoR), the agency’s program to
promote geographic diversity in research
funding.
EPSCoR’s mission is to enhance
C R E D I T: S H U TT E RSTO C K
“research competitiveness of targeted
jurisdictions (states, territories, common-
wealth) by strengthening STEM capacity
and capability,” the NSF says on its web-
site. EPSCoR currently serves 25 states
as well as Guam, Puerto Rico, and the US
manufacturing processes being used for
food containers,” Susan Mayne, director
of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and
Applied Nutrition, says in a statement.
“We are encouraging manufacturers and
distributors to consult with us regarding
the regulatory status of any manufacturing
processes used to produce fluorinated
polyethylene containers for use in contact
with food,” she says.
Environmental groups want the FDA to
investigate companies that make fluorinat-
ed plastic containers for storing food and
cosmetics to ensure that their processes
are authorized. They are also pushing the
agency to reassess the safety of fluorinated
polyethylene containers for such uses,
even if they comply with the law.
The FDA approved the process of fluo-
rinating polyethylene food containers in
1983. At the time, the agency determined
that the process made no significant quan-
tities of PFAS. But what was considered
significant then is different from what is
considered significant now, says Tom Nelt-
ner, chemicals policy director at the advo-
cacy group Environmental Defense Fund.
We now know that PFAS are “much more
Virgin Islands—jurisdictions that have
received less than 0.75% of the total NSF
budget over the past 5 years. Goals of
the program include promoting research
capability and economic development, as
well as establishing professional develop-
ment pathways.
The 19-member evaluation committee
will consider the effectiveness of current
EPSCoR efforts and whether and how the
program could do better, the NSF says.
Members include Edwin Cruz-Rivera, a
biological sciences professor at the Uni-
versity of the Virgin Islands; Christine
Environmental groups are urging the
US Food and Drug Administration to
reassess the safety of fluorinated
polyethylene containers for food use.
dangerous” than people believed nearly 4
decades ago, he says.
In an Aug. 9 blog post, Neltner identi-
fies three manufacturers using processes
to fluorinate polyethylene that are unau-
thorized for food containers. It is unclear
what those containers are used for, but
one of the companies lists flavors and fra-
grances as a potential market.
Fluorination of polyethylene containers
helps keep food and cosmetics, as well as
cleaning products, agricultural chemicals,
petroleum-based fluids, and other liquids
from spoiling by providing a barrier to
oxygen and moisture. With respect to
food, these containers could be used to
hold vegetable oils, flavoring agents, liquid
dairy products, or nearly any liquid “you
are worried about going bad,” Neltner
says.—BRITT ERICKSON
Cutucache, a biology professor at the Uni-
versity of Nebraska at Omaha; Marian G.
McCord, a biomedical engineer and senior
vice provost for research, economic en-
gagement, and outreach at the University
of New Hampshire; Prakash Nagarkatti,
an immunologist and senior research
adviser to the president of the University
of South Carolina; and Scott A. Wicker,
a chemistry professor at Kentucky State
University.
The NSF expects the committee
to deliver its final report in spring
2022.—JYLLIAN KEMSLEY
AUGUST 16/23, 2021 | CEN.ACS.ORG | C&EN 23