Restaurant Brands International Will Ban Toxic PFAS in Food Packaging Globally by 2025

(Credit: RBI)

Restaurant Brands International (RBI), owner of Burger King, Popeyes, and Tim Hortons, will ban toxic PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” in food packaging globally by 2025. RBI’s announcement follows a multi-year campaign to phase out PFAS from retail food packaging, led by Toxic-Free Future. Their actions come nearly one year after restaurant competitors made similar commitments, including McDonald’s and Wendy’s, following Toxic-Free Future’s 2018 and 2020 reports testing food packaging materials, including wrappers from Burger King.

Chemical companies sell PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) for application to paper and textiles as stain-resistant, water-repellent, and grease-proofing treatments. A growing body of scientific research has found links between exposures to PFAS and a wide range of health problems including a weaker immune system, cancer, increased cholesterol levels, pregnancy-induced hypertension, liver damage, reduced fertility, and increased risk of thyroid disease. PFAS are often referred to as “forever” chemicals because they are not known to break down in the environment and can easily move through soil to drinking water.

But the danger of these chemicals aren’t just health related–recently, Wisconsin filed a civil environmental enforcement lawsuit against Johnson Controls and Tyco Fire Products for violations of the state’s hazard substance spills law, impacting the financial aspect of these companies. 

State governments are also taking legislative and regulatory actions to phase out forever chemicals in products to prevent contamination in favor of safer alternatives. Under his Environmental Justice Plan, President Joe Biden has pledged to forcefully address the PFAS problem. For example, laws in Maine and Washington have given state agencies authority to ban the chemicals in a wide range of products. California, Connecticut, Maine, New York, Vermont, and Washington have enacted phase-outs of PFAS in food packaging. Vermont and Maine adopted bans on PFAS in carpets, rugs, and aftermarket treatments and regulatory action is pending on these products and other home textiles in California and Washington.