Delipac is developing Smart-Safe© packaging solutions that are plastic-free and PFAS-free, addressing environmental concerns while gaining support from retailers and policymakers.
International food packaging paperboard producer, Delipac, has built its brand on the concept of Smart-Safe© sustainability. The company provides packaging solutions that come with an impressive set of environmental accolades, including a plastic-free and PFAS-free barrier, whilst being recyclable, compostable, and also carbon balanced.
Per- or polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of over 10,000 industrial chemicals, widely used in everything from carpets to cosmetics, cookware, and food packaging, and widely linked to major human health and environmental concerns.
The persistent problem with PFAS
The carbon-fluorine bond that characterises this chemical group makes them both water and oil-repellent – properties highly sought after in food packaging. However, this carbon-fluorine bond is also one of the strongest known in nature, meaning these chemicals are extremely difficult to break down or destroy. Some forms of PFAS are known to persist in soils for thousands of years. PFAS accumulate in our bodies and in those of our wildlife, cross the placenta into unborn children, and circulate the globe in both air and water. Recognised as endocrine disruptors (meaning they interfere with the body’s hormone system), many of these chemicals are linked to human fertility and reproductive problems, reduced immune responses to vaccinations, and even neurological changes in polar bears. With new evidence of their harmful impacts emerging every day, and concentrations continuing to build in our environment, this is not a problem we can put off until tomorrow.
Pervasive in food packaging
PFAS are usually associated with certain aqueous coatings and polymers, and PFAS emanate across a range of paper, card, and also moulded fibre products, including bakery and pastry bags, pizza boxes, and compostable plates, bowls, and clamshell containers. With the market currently focused on moving away from single-use plastic and the growing demand for eco-branded packaging, are we simply swapping one well-known pollutant for a much more persistent and damaging alternative?
Yes, in many cases we have been, but the tables are turning – and the future is looking brighter.
PFAS-free options already on our shelves
FIDRA is engaging with UK retailers, fast-food companies, and policymakers, highlighting the issues and encouraging them to take action, and has been hugely encouraged by the response. Companies across the food retail sector are getting involved, working with their suppliers, and in the case of one major UK supermarket, even committing to phasing out PFAS across their products. And the best news is, it’s no longer a choice between plastic and PFAS; safer alternatives are beginning to appear on supermarket shelves.
Putting PFAS-free to the test: Delipac’s story
Delipac found itself in the midst of the PFAS debate and was invited by the UK Parliamentary Environmental Select Committee in September 2025 to present information on how to take a positive and proactive approach. Delipac works with its client brand-owners and retailers as well as Fidra – and are now able to respond to the growing demand for PFAS-free food packaging solutions.
Mark Hirlam, Sales Director of Delipac, shared the company’s story: “We were first alerted to the seriousness of PFAS and the growing concern about its use by the packaging technologist of The Co-op supermarket in the UK. We have a strong relationship with The Co-op and the utmost respect for their stance on the environment and sustainability needs.
“We concluded that if they were genuinely concerned about PFAS, then we ought to be equally concerned.
“We started our journey by garnering opinions on the issue from other retailers and brand owners, as well as with contacts within our own distribution and supply chain across the UK, Europe, North America, and other key regions. Whilst some respondents were not fully aware of issues surrounding PFAS, a growing number are now recognising and are concerned by the accelerating problem, even taking action to ban their use within their own supplier base. Significantly, this includes some of the world’s most major brands.”
Award-winning Smart-Safe© Delipac paperboard, with its plastic-free and PFAS-free food barrier, replaces conventional (and harmful) plastic-coated / laminated paperboard for barrier packaging applications. Think of food packaging generally, food and drinks to go, ready meals, etc. Delipac is an inspiring product with a host of independent ISO environmental certifications: recyclable (EN13430). home and industrial compostable (NF T51-800-20-15), biodegradable (EN13432) EU/FDA food compliance EN1935/2004, bfr36 21CFR and proven free of migration EU REACH (1907/2006 Article 33 ECHA), PFAS migration (CEN/TS 15968/ EU 10/2011), metal content migration (RoHS EU 94/62/EEC).
To find out more about PFAS, visit Fidra’s dedicated website and download the report: ‘Forever Chemicals in the Food Aisle.’
CASE SUMMARY FOR IDENTIFYING PFAS FOR IMPENDING EUROPEAN UNION REGULATION ARTICLE 21 (REV) PPWR (EU 2025/40). PFAS will be banned in food contact packaging within the EU starting 12 August 2026.
This is part of the EU’s broader Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) aimed at protecting health and the environment.
Key details of the 2026 PFAS ban:
Scope of the ban:
The regulation prohibits placing food contact packaging on the EU market if it contains PFAS above these specific thresholds:
- 25 parts per billion (ppb) for any individual PFAS
- 250 ppb* for the sum of all PFAS
- 50 parts per million (ppm)
Affected products:
This includes items such as:
- Grease-resistant fast-food wrappers
- Paper cups
- Plastic or some paper-coated food packaging
- Drinking straws
- Microwave popcorn bags
- Coated paper snack packaging
- Fluoropolymer-based plastic processing aids (even if not intentionally added)
Legal basis:
The ban is codified in Article 21 of the revised PPWR (EU 2025/40), with the aim of reducing damaging PFAS exposures due to their harmful chemical persistence and serious links to health issues like hormone disruption and cancer.
Compliance responsibility:
Manufacturers and importers must ensure their packaging is PFAS-free.
Suppliers are expected to provide proven declarations of compliance under Regulation.
(EC) No 1935/2004 Food and Drink Compliance.
Industry implications and wider PFAS restrictions:
Due to the discovery of the seriousness of PFAS, the EU is currently considering, beyond food and drink packaging, a broader REACH-based restriction covering 10,000 PFAS substances across multiple industries.
So if you’re evaluating packaging workflows or sourcing materials, it’s now time-critical to audit existing supply chains, identifying PFAS, and to explore proven, compliant, PFAS-free Delipac Smart-Safe© paperboard that allows for safe packaging to be produced for food and drink.
Forever chemicals, forever consequences. Do not ignore PFAS contamination in packaging!
