Individual bans have already been decided:
- Ban on basic substances for impregnating agents in the EU.
- Ban in cosmetics and waxes in France.
- An EU-wide ban on packaging that comes into contact with food will come into force shortly.
- And a general restriction for precautionary reasons is in preparation in the EU.
PPWR & PFAS: What are PFAS and why are they banned?
Organic compounds containing fluorine (fluorocarbons), and in particular the PFAS (per- and polyfluorinated alkyl compounds), have some outstanding properties such as high chemical and thermal stability, water/oil/grease/dirt repellency, non-flammability, electrical inertness, etc., which have enabled them to establish themselves and prove their worth in a wide range of applications over the last few decades. Popular examples include Teflon pans, dirt-repellent textiles, and ski waxes. Highly specialized, lesser-known examples include epilams in the watch industry and pharmaceutical agents such as fulvestrant. Many materials in the process industry also benefit from these advantageous properties, such as seals, even if no fluorine compounds are used in the process itself.
Overview of all PFAS regulations
In view of these risks, the European Commission has decided via the PPWR to ban PFAS in food contact packaging from August 12, 2026 (PPWR Article 21, Recitals 20 and 21). Within the PFAS substance class, which consists of thousands of different chemical substances, there have already been individual legal restrictions, which we present to you as follows:
- Various critical substances have been restricted in recent years under the REACH Regulation (EU) 1907/2006, either by inclusion in Annex XVII or by classification as SVHC. Example: PFHxA = Undecafluorohexanoic acid was included in Annex XVII of REACH as No. 79 by Regulation (EU) 2024/2462. This substance and related substances are therefore prohibited from October 10, 2026, in the following applications, among others: Textiles, leather, footwear for the general public (exemptions for workwear); paper and cardboard as food contact materials (e.g., pizza boxes); mixtures for the general public; cosmetics. Firefighting foams are also regulated here. Other applications are not affected by this law.
- Based on the 1979 Stockholm Convention on POPs, the EU and Switzerland subsequently banned PFOS = perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, PFOA = perfluorooctanoic acid, PFHxS = perfluorohexane sulfonic acid, and many other substances were subsequently banned (in the EU, this is laid down in the POP Regulation (EU) 2019/1021, and in Switzerland in the Chemical Risk Reduction Ordinance ChemRRV). Some entries in REACH Annex XVII have been replaced as a result (e.g., PFOA in REACH Annex XVII, No. 68 by means of (EU) 2020/2096). Substances that have been banned for a long time, such as DDT and lindane, are also listed again in this POP Regulation (Annex I).
- At the end of 2023, the European cosmetics association Cosmetics Europe (CE) issued a recommendation to voluntarily phase out the use of these substances by the end of 2025.
- France has implemented this CE recommendation in Law No. 2025-188 (February 27, 2025). This means that from January 1, 2026, the marketing of cosmetics and wax products (e.g., shoe polish, ski wax) on the French market will be prohibited if PFAS have been intentionally added. Decree No. 2025-1376 (December 28, 2025) sets limits for residual PFAS content.
- In accordance with Article 5(5) of the PPWR = Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (EU) 2025/40, PFAS (except for trace residues) will be banned for packaging that comes into contact with food (e.g., fast food packaging such as pizza boxes, burger boxes, sandwich paper) from August 12, 2026.
Instead of numerous regulations for individual substances, the EU is now planning a general ban on PFAS in the near future, which will only allow irreplaceable exceptions and grant sufficiently long deadlines for replacement measures. This is to be integrated into REACH Annex XVII.
The FRIKE GROUP implements these legal requirements early on with its customers and supports them in their search for alternative materials and formulations for optimal product performance.
