This week the Scottish Environmental NGO Fidra delivered their petition with almost 12,000 signatures to the UK’s leading supermarkets, demanding to remove PFAS chemicals from food packaging, amidst growing concerns linking exposure to health problems, and to long-term environmental harm.

On Tuesday Fidra delivered 11,860 signatures to the CEOs of Aldi, ASDA, Co-op, Iceland, Lidl, Morrisons, Marks and Spencer, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, urging the supermarkets to remove PFAS, a group of harmful pollutants, from UK food packaging.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as the Forever Chemicals, are a large chemical family of over 4,700 highly persistent chemicals that don’t occur in nature. PFAS are the most persistent synthetic chemicals to date, they hardly degrade in the natural environment.

Unfortunately, PFAS are currently being used in the paper, board and compostable food packaging that is rapidly replacing plastic across the UK. These chemicals are polluting our rivers, accumulating in wildlife, and contaminating the food we eat. Last year Fidra published a study that found PFAS present in 95% of food packaging samples bought from UK supermarket and takeaways.

Read here about how to reduce your risk from harmful chemicals potentially present in food and food packaging.

To learn more about PFAS:

See our briefing.

Check out our PFAS webpage.

Read our PFAS FAQs.

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