On May 18, the Environmental Protection Agency — whose stated core mission is protecting human health and the environment — proposed repealing federal limits on four types of “forever chemicals” in our drinking water. It also announced it will push compliance deadlines for PFOA and PFOS, the two most notorious of forever chemicals, all the way out to 2031! How is that protecting human health and the environment, you might ask?
The chemicals — GenX, PFBS, PFNA, and PFHxS — are all members of a vast family of synthetic compounds known as PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. We call them forever chemicals because that’s exactly what they are: once they enter the environment, they don’t break down. They accumulate in soil, water, air, and in the human body forever. The CDC has detected PFAS in the blood of 99 percent of Americans. Including newborns.
Are Americans safe from PFAS microplastics? And the answer is: The EPA has just made U.S. citizens more at risk from forever chemicals.
176 Million People…and Counting
As of March 2026, the Environmental Working Group reported that approximately 176 million Americans are drinking tap water contaminated with PFAS. That number is a current reality, and it’s growing.
PFAS exposure is linked to kidney and testicular cancers, liver damage, immune system suppression, thyroid disease, infertility, developmental delays in children, low birth weight, and reduced vaccine effectiveness.
The public comment period for both proposed rules runs through July 20, 2026. A public hearing is scheduled for July 7. As a voice in this industry, retailers have a responsibility to use that voice.
Yet Another “Make America Healthy Again” Contradiction
Here’s the contradiction that is keeping me up at night and should keep every food industry executive up at night as well: EPA’s own April 2025 strategic announcement pledged ambitious action on PFAS across all program offices. And then, less than a month later, the agency moved to strip protections for four of the six chemicals it had just committed to regulating. (EPA’s April 28, 2025, press release announcing the effort has since been removed from their website.) Does any of this make sense?
It gets worse: EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin appointed two Chemours employees — Shawn Gannon and Sean Uhl — to the EPA’s Science Advisory Board, the very body that shapes drinking water regulations. Chemours is currently suing the EPA to overturn those same PFAS rules. This is most certainly a conflict of interest.
Chemours, a brand spun off from DuPont, has known about the dangers of these chemicals for decades. In 2023, the company settled claims that it contaminated U.S. public water systems with PFAS for $592 million as part of a broader $1.19 billion settlement. And now its employees are advising the EPA on the very regulations Chemours is fighting in court.
The MAHA movement — Make America Healthy Again — has built its brand identity around cleaning up the food supply. This is the moment to prove that MAHA means something beyond food dyes, seed oils, and the “beef is back” command from RFK Jr.
The Forever Chemical Problem
Here’s what the food industry needs to understand: PFAS aren’t just a water problem. PFAS have been embedded in food packaging for decades. These are the grease-resistant coatings on fast-food wrappers, microwave popcorn bags, pizza boxes, and plastic takeout containers. A landmark study published in NIH’s PubMed Central found 68 distinct PFAS compounds in various food contact materials, including paper, plastic, and coated metal.
Research from UNC Chapel Hill found that people who eat more ultra-processed foods have measurably higher levels of certain PFAS compounds in their blood, which is likely from the packaging itself, not just the food inside. An IPEN study found single-use food packaging containing PFAS in 17 countries and documented that McDonald’s, KFC, Burger King, Subway, Starbucks, and Dunkin’ Donuts use PFAS-free packaging in some countries while continuing to use contaminated packaging in others, in many cases in the United States.
The FDA announced in early 2024 that all grease-proofing agents containing PFAS are no longer being sold in the U.S., certainly a meaningful step. But that addresses just one use case. Imported goods, non-paper materials, and packaging not covered by the FDA action remain a live concern.
Regulatory Action In Spite of the EPA
While the federal government retreats, states are building a protective wall. As of April 2026, 12 states have enacted laws specifically restricting intentionally added PFAS in food packaging or food service ware. In 2025 alone, nearly 350 PFAS bills were introduced across 39 states.
The EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation requires PFAS-free food-contact packaging by August 2026 — and that regulation applies globally to any company selling into European markets. Maine’s broad ban on PFAS in food packaging just took effect May 25, 2026. Illinois enacted restrictions on food packaging and a dozen other product categories effective this year. Colorado, Vermont, and Washington all introduced new PFAS prohibitions on January 1, 2026. By 2032, Maine, Minnesota, and New Mexico will ban all products containing intentionally added PFAS. The question is not whether the food industry will ultimately have to go PFAS-free. It will.
What Retailers and Brands Can — and Must — Do Now
I’m not alone in sounding this alarm from the pages of The Robin Report. My colleague Arick Wierson laid out the stakes with precision in his piece “PFAS Are High Risk for Retail” — and two of his recommendations deserve to be on every retail executive’s desk right now. First, Wierson urges retailers to proactively map their PFAS exposure across their entire assortment and supply chain — not just the obvious food-packaging categories, but textiles, cookware, home goods, cosmetics, and building materials. Second, he makes a compelling case for embracing transparency before litigation or regulation forces the issue: The brands that voluntarily disclose and phase out PFAS will own the consumer trust narrative, while those who wait will spend years playing defense in courtrooms. He’s right on both counts. The food industry, in particular, can’t afford to treat PFAS as someone else’s problem.
The federal government has chosen to look away. That’s not an excuse for the food industry to do the same. Here’s what I want food retailers to do today:
Demand PFAS-free packaging from your supplier base. Retailers have the leverage to make this happen. The packaging technology exists — fiber-based solutions, coated papers and boards, bio-based barriers. More than 32 retail chains with over 150,000 stores and $654 billion in combined sales have already committed to eliminating or reducing PFAS in food packaging. If major retailers, including 7-Eleven, Ahold Delhaise, Albertsons, Trader Joe’s, and Whole Foods can do it, your organization can do it too.
Set a public timeline and hold to it. Target set PFAS goals back in 2017. REI went fully PFAS-free in 2024. These are not small startups doing the right thing because it’s easy. They’re large organizations that made a strategic commitment and executed. Every day without a commitment is a day your competitors can outdo you on consumer trust.
Get ahead of compliance before it becomes a crisis. With 12 states already enforcing bans and the EU deadline hitting in August, the patchwork of state regulations is becoming a supply chain risk. National brands that haven’t audited their packaging supply chain for PFAS exposure are operating with a blind spot.
My Bottom Line
I’ve spent more than three decades watching the food industry navigate crises it didn’t create but had to solve anyway: mad cow, listeria, BPA in cans, bird flu, trans fats in everything and, of course, COVID. Each time the brands and retailers that moved early came out with stronger consumer trust.
PFAS is your next test. The EPA has just told 176 million Americans that four of the most dangerous compounds in their drinking water are no longer worth regulating at the federal level. The Science Advisory Board (with its conflict of interest very obvious) will help shape whatever comes next.
The EPA has made its choice. The states are making theirs. The EU already made its choice. The only question left is whether the food industry leads this moment or gets dragged through it.
Forever chemicals have been in our food supply, our packaging, and our bodies for decades. The damage is done. What happens next is entirely up to the leaders of the food and packaging industries.
