New Mexico Joins Maine and Minnesota in Enacting Bans on PFAS in Food Packaging and Cookware
New Mexico has enacted a law that bans intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in certain products, including food packaging and cookware. The Per- and Poly-fluoroalkyl Substances Protection Act, or PFAS Protection Act, was signed into law by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on April 8, 2025.
The PFAS Protection Act will phase out the manufacture, sale, and distribution of products containing intentionally added PFAS, with the first phase including prohibitions on PFAS in food packaging and cookware, beginning on January 1, 2027. By 2032, the law imposes a ban on all products containing intentionally added PFAS unless the use of PFAS in a product is determined to be unavoidable or the product is subject to a sector-wide exemption.
PFAS are “intentionally added” if they are deliberately added or used during the manufacture of a product, where the continued presence, at any level or concentration is desired or expected in the final product or one of the product’s components.
Notably, the PFAS Protection Act includes a first of its kind exemption for products made with fluoropolymers, which are defined as “polymeric substances for which the backbone of the polymer is either a per- or polyfluorinated carbon-only backbone or a perfluorinated polyether backbone that is a solid at standard temperature and pressure.” This is significant as many food packaging materials and cookware contain the fluoropolymer, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), which is otherwise captured in the broader PFAS restrictions that merely define PFAS as a class of fluorinated organic chemicals containing at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom.
Additionally, by January 1, 2027, manufacturers of products not included in the first phase of prohibitions will be required to report information to New Mexico’s Environmental Improvement Board on the use of intentionally added PFAS in their products and related testing. The law specifies that the following information must be reported: a brief description of the product, the purpose for which PFAS is used in the product; the amount of PFAS in the product; and the name and address of the manufacturer.
Keller and Heckman will follow New Mexico’s development of rules to implement the PFAS Protection Act, as we are in Maine and Minnesota. For information on those states, see the PackagingLaw.com articles, Maine Bill Changes Effective Date of Intentionally Added PFAS Bans and Minnesota’s Ban on PFAS in Food Packaging Becomes Effective Jan. 1.