The food in your shopping bag gets most of the attention. The packaging around it usually doesn't. That's about to change. Two big EU bans on chemicals used in food-contact materials take full effect this summer — BPA in cans and bottles, and PFAS in grease-resistant paper and board. Both have been a long time coming, both will quietly reshape what's on European shelves, and neither shows up on the kind of label you can read with a scanner app.
Here's what's actually being banned, why, and what it means for what you bring home from the supermarket.
What's being banned in 2026?
Two separate pieces of EU regulation, hitting roughly the same window:
- BPA (bisphenol A) is being banned in food-contact materials under Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/3190, which entered into force in January 2025 and takes full effect through 2026.
- PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) — the "forever chemicals" — are being banned in food-contact packaging under the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), Regulation (EU) 2025/40, with the PFAS-specific provisions applying from 12 August 2026.
Both bans cover packaging placed on the EU market from those dates onward. There's no grandfathering provision for the PFAS rule, meaning even packaging manufactured before August 2026 cannot be sold in the EU after that date if it exceeds the limits.
What is BPA, and why is it being banned?
BPA is a chemical used since the 1950s to make polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resin coatings. In food packaging, it's most associated with the inner lining of metal cans (where it prevents the can from corroding), epoxy-coated tank linings used in food production, and refillable polycarbonate bottles.
The concern is that BPA is an endocrine disruptor — a substance that interferes with hormone signalling, even at very low doses. EFSA dramatically lowered its tolerable daily intake for BPA in 2023 (by a factor of around 20,000 from the previous level), reflecting growing evidence about effects on the immune system, reproductive health, and metabolic function. The Commission's response, Regulation 2024/3190, prohibits the use of BPA and several closely related bisphenols in materials intended to come into contact with food.
The categories most affected:
- Tinned food and drink — soup, vegetables, fish, beans, pet food, beer cans.
- Refillable polycarbonate water bottles, including the kind used in office water dispensers.
- Coatings on food-processing tank linings.
- Reusable plastic tableware and utensils that contained BPA.
Replacement materials are already widely in use — BPA-NI (BPA non-intent) coatings, polyester-based linings, and alternative bisphenols like BPF and BPC. Whether those substitutes are meaningfully safer is itself a research question; some early studies suggest the alternatives have their own endocrine effects, which is part of why Regulation 2024/3190 also restricts several BPA-related compounds, not just BPA itself.
What are PFAS, and why are they being banned?
PFAS are a family of about 10,000 synthetic chemicals known for being extremely effective at repelling water and grease, and extremely persistent in the environment — hence the nickname "forever chemicals." They've been used in food packaging since the 1950s wherever paper or board needs to resist oil, grease, or moisture.
In food contact, PFAS show up most often in:
- Pizza delivery boxes (grease resistance)
- Microwave popcorn bags
- Fast-food wrappers and burger containers
- Takeaway coffee cups and disposable bowls (waterproofing)
- Bakery and pastry papers designed to be greaseproof
- Some plant-based moulded packaging that markets itself as compostable
The health concern is that PFAS bioaccumulate. They don't degrade meaningfully in the human body or in the environment, and exposure has been linked in observational studies to hormone disruption, immune dysfunction, liver problems, and certain cancers. PFAS have been detected in the blood of essentially every European tested for them — including, in a recent symbolic test, several EU Commissioners and ministers — and in breast milk.
The PPWR sets specific limits: 25 ppb for any individual targeted PFAS, 250 ppb for the sum of targeted PFAS, and 50 ppm for total PFAS including polymeric. Above any of those thresholds, the packaging cannot be placed on the EU market from 12 August 2026.
In March 2026, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) went further, formally backing a much broader EU-wide restriction on PFAS across most uses. The Commission is expected to decide by the end of 2026 whether to act on it. Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Norway, and the Netherlands have been the main pushers behind that wider ban.
Why is this happening now?
A few things converged. The science on both BPA and PFAS has been steadily strengthening for a decade, but it accelerated sharply in the early 2020s — particularly EFSA's 2023 BPA reassessment and ECHA's growing PFAS dossier. National-level action got ahead of EU action: France passed its own additional PFAS law in February 2025, the Netherlands has been active in calling for the EU-wide ban, and Denmark introduced national PFAS bans in textiles. The Commission moved partly to prevent regulatory fragmentation across member states.
There's also a genuine consumer-pressure factor. PFAS testing of takeaway packaging by European NGOs over the past three years produced a string of media stories about specific brands and product categories being contaminated. Once the topic was on consumer radar, the politics moved.
What does this mean for the products on the shelf?
A few practical effects to expect through the second half of 2026 and into 2027:
- Tinned products with BPA-containing linings will phase out, replaced with BPA-NI or polyester-based alternatives. Some manufacturers have already been doing this for years; the regulation closes the gap.
- Pizza boxes, popcorn bags, fast-food packaging, and takeaway containers will be reformulated. Expect more silicone-coated or specially treated paper, more wax-coated alternatives, and more compostable moulded fibre — though the "compostable" claim itself often warrants checking.
- Some products may briefly cost more as manufacturers absorb reformulation costs, particularly in lower-margin canned categories.
- Imports are not exempt. Imported food packaging entering the EU after the deadlines must meet the same limits.
The bans don't address every food-contact concern. Phthalates, mineral oil hydrocarbons, and several other plasticisers remain points of ongoing scrutiny rather than ban. And recycled materials — increasingly mandated under separate parts of the PPWR — can themselves contain PFAS or BPA from their original use, which is a known compliance challenge for the industry.
Where a food-scanner app can help (and where it can't)
Honest framing: a scanner app reads the ingredient list and nutrition panel of a product. Packaging chemistry isn't on either of those. So a tool like Nime won't tell you whether a specific can has a BPA-NI coating or whether a particular pizza box is PFAS-free. That information lives in the manufacturer's compliance documentation, not on the consumer label.
What a scanner does help with — and where the connection to packaging matters:
- Reducing reliance on heavily packaged ultra-processed food. The categories most exposed to PFAS in packaging (takeaway, microwaveable, grease-resistant) overlap heavily with the categories that are also high in additives, sodium, and ultra-processed ingredients. Eating less of those for any reason tends to lower PFAS exposure as a side effect.
- Choosing tinned alternatives sensibly. Some tinned foods (beans, tomatoes, fish in water) are a healthy choice nutritionally, and post-2026 their BPA risk drops substantially as the regulation works through stock. A scanner helps you compare options on the actual nutritional content.
- Spotting "natural" or "compostable" packaging claims that need verification. The regulation forces manufacturers who claim PFAS-free to back it up with documentation, and consumer-watchdog testing will likely follow. A scanner app helps you keep track of brand reputation across products.
A reasonable rule of thumb: the regulation does the heavy lifting on what's banned. The scanner does the heavy lifting on what's in your basket.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are BPA-containing cans still legal in the EU right now?
The transition is in progress. Regulation (EU) 2024/3190 entered into force on 20 January 2025, with the main marketing prohibition for BPA in food-contact materials taking effect after a transition period running through 2026. Existing stock with BPA-containing coatings is being sold through during this period. From mid-2026 onward, manufacturers placing new BPA-containing packaging on the EU market will be in breach.
When exactly does the PFAS food-packaging ban take effect?
The PFAS provisions of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2025/40) apply from 12 August 2026 across the entire EU. After that date, food-contact packaging containing PFAS above the specified thresholds — 25 ppb individual, 250 ppb sum of targeted PFAS, 50 ppm total — cannot be placed on the EU market regardless of when it was manufactured.
Will I be able to tell from looking at packaging whether it contains BPA or PFAS?
Generally not directly. The ban requires manufacturers to ensure compliance, but the regulation doesn't mandate a "BPA-free" or "PFAS-free" front-of-pack label. Some manufacturers will choose to declare it as a marketing point — and consumer-watchdog testing in member states is likely to follow up. From mid-2026 onward, the safer assumption is that mainstream EU packaging meets the new limits, with NGO testing flagging any outliers.
Are the replacement materials safer?
Probably, but not certainly. BPA replacements like BPF, BPC, and other bisphenols have been studied less than BPA itself and some early research suggests they have similar endocrine effects — which is partly why the EU regulation covers a group of bisphenols, not just BPA alone. PFAS replacements vary widely; silicone, wax, and moulded-fibre alternatives are generally considered better. Consumer groups will continue to scrutinise the substitutes, and further restrictions are likely.
Does this apply to imports?
Yes. Both regulations apply to all packaging placed on the EU market, regardless of where it's manufactured. Imported food in BPA-lined cans or PFAS-treated wrappers cannot be sold in the EU after the relevant deadlines.
Sources: Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/3190 on the use of BPA and bisphenols in food contact materials; Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation), Article 5; ECHA Risk Assessment Committee opinion on PFAS restriction, March 2026; EFSA Scientific Opinion on BPA, April 2023; European Environment Agency reports on PFAS in European waters; Euronews, March 2026.