Several States Expand PFAS Bans to Include Cookware
Recently enacted legislation in several states expand the prohibition of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to include cookware. These states include Vermont, Connecticut, and Colorado. (For information on Colorado’s ban, see the Packaginglaw.com article, Colorado Expands PFAS Ban to Include Cookware and Food Equipment.) Washington State has recommended a reporting requirement for PFAS in cookware.
On May 30, 2024, Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed S 25, which expands the state’s PFAS restriction to a variety of new consumer products, including cookware. Cookware is defined as “durable houseware items used to prepare, dispense, or store food, foodstuffs, or beverages and that are intended for direct food contact, including pots, pans, skillets, grills, baking sheets, baking molds, trays, bowls, and cooking utensils.” The new law bans the sale and distribution of new cookware to which PFAS have been intentionally added in any amount, effective January 1, 2026. Vermont previously banned food packaging with intentionally added PFAS.
On June 5, 2024, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed SB 292, which prohibits the sale and distribution for sale of any cookware and several other product categories that have intentionally added PFAS after January 1, 2026. (The other product categories are apparel, carpets, cleaning products, cosmetics, dental floss, fabric treatments, children’s products, menstruation products, textile furnishings, ski wax, and upholstered furniture.) The bill also prohibits the sale of all products that contain intentionally added PFAS after January 1, 2032, unless the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Commissioner determines that the use of PFAS in that product is an unavoidable use. (For information on the PFAS ban in food packaging in CT and VT, see the Packaginglaw.com article, Connecticut and Vermont Ban PFAS in Food Packaging.)
In its report, Regulatory Determinations Report to the Legislature: Safer Products for Washington Cycle 1.5 Implementation Phase 3, published in May 2024, the Washington State Department of Ecology recommends a reporting requirement for PFAS in cookware. The Department stated that it determined that a restriction of PFAS in cookware would “reduce a significant source and use,” but did not recommend a ban because an evaluation of safer alternatives to PFAS in cookware had not been conducted. Cookware will likely be part of a future review cycle under the Safer Products for Washington program.