{"id":2000342,"date":"2023-08-14T17:12:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-14T21:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/maine-to-ban-forever-chemicals-in-food-packaging\/"},"modified":"2023-08-14T17:14:51","modified_gmt":"2023-08-14T21:14:51","slug":"maine-to-ban-forever-chemicals-in-food-packaging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/maine-to-ban-forever-chemicals-in-food-packaging\/","title":{"rendered":"Maine to prohibit &#8216;forever chemicals&#8217; in food packaging."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmaine-to-ban-forever-chemicals-in-food-packaging%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2000342&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Environmental Regulators \u2063in Maine\u200b Take\u200c Steps to Ban \u200b&#8221;Forever Chemicals&#8221; in Food Packaging<\/h2>\n<p>Environmental\u200c regulators in Maine are making significant strides in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/heres-what-each-of-bidens-42-executive-orders-will-actually-do\/\" title=\"Here\u2019s What Each Of Biden\u2019s 42 Executive Orders Will Actually Do\">protecting public health<\/a> \u2063by taking steps to ban &#8220;forever chemicals&#8221; in food packaging.\u2064 This move positions Maine\u2063 as one of the leading states in addressing this pressing\u200c issue.<\/p>\n<p>The term &#8220;forever chemicals&#8221; refers\u200c to their incredibly slow decomposition\u200c rate, making them persist in the environment for an extended period. These\u2063 chemicals, known as PFAS, are \u2062commonly \u2063used as water and oil-repellent linings in various food packaging items, including pizza \u2063boxes, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-12-worst-endocrine-disruptors-and-how-to-avoid-them\/\" title=\"The 12 Worst Endocrine Disruptors and How to Avoid Them\">microwave popcorn bags<\/a>, and nonstick\u200d cookware.<\/p>\n<h3>The Dangers of PFAS<\/h3>\n<p>PFAS chemicals\u2063 have been found in\u2063 nearly half of the drinking \u2064water sources in the United States due to groundwater contamination. \u2063These chemicals have \u2064been linked to a range\u200c of\u200b illnesses and conditions, \u2064including reproductive system disruption, low birth\u2063 weights, kidney disease, and cancer.<\/p>\n<p>The Maine Department \u2063of Environmental Protection has\u2064 released draft rules to regulate nine types of PFAS \u200bchemicals in food packaging, \u2063such as \u200bpicnic \u2063plates, fast food\u200d wrappers, and take-out containers. These regulations will \u200bprimarily target \u2062manufacturers with over $1\u200d billion in sales,\u200b ensuring that major players in the market are held accountable while minimizing the impact \u2063on smaller companies.<\/p>\n<p>Maine \u200dhas already\u2062 taken significant steps \u200btowards addressing PFAS contamination. \u200cIn 2021, the\u2062 state passed\u2062 a\u200b law outlining a plan to phase out all PFAS in products sold\u200b within its borders by\u2064 2030.<\/p>\n<p>DEP commissioner Melanie Loyzim\u2064 emphasized\u2063 the importance of source reduction in tackling PFAS contamination.\u2063 She\u200c stated, &#8220;If \u2062we want to try to get it out of our waste \u2064stream and\u200d not have it continue \u200bto go into our environment, \u2063we have to do source\u200c reduction. And this \u200bis going to be an important part\u200c of\u2064 that strategy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>While \u200csome <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/maine-to-ban-forever-chemicals-in-food-packaging\/\" title=\"Maine to prohibit 'forever chemicals' in food packaging.\">critics anticipate potential package shortages<\/a>, Erika Schreder, the science director at \u2063Toxic-Free Future, has not\u200b heard of any such\u2063 shortages. She mentioned that major food \u200dpackaging manufacturers \u2063in the United States have already transitioned away from using PFAS.<\/p>\n<p>Maine\u200b has been \u2063following \u2064Washington state&#8217;s\u200d lead in\u2062 PFAS regulation. In 2019, Maine became the second state in the country to attempt to \u200cregulate the presence \u200dof these chemicals in single-use food packaging. Washington state\u200c conducted a thorough review of safer alternatives before implementing regulations earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p>Approval from the state&#8217;s Board \u200dof Environmental Protection and legislature is still required for\u2064 Maine&#8217;s proposed regulations\u2064 to take\u200c effect.<\/p>\n<p>The Pine Tree State has been at the forefront of addressing \u2062PFAS\u2063 contamination. It became \u200dthe\u2064 first state to require testing for these chemicals in sludge, which has\u200b shown high levels in farmland where sludge was \u200cused as fertilizer. Maine has\u2063 also mandated drinking water testing for PFAS since the end of 2022.<\/p>\n<p>While Maine works\u2062 on its regulations, \u2064the federal government\u2063 is \u200dalso taking action. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, \u200dMichael Regan, has proposed \u2063federal\u200d regulations for PFAS. Additionally, a bipartisan\u2062 group of senators, including Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Gary Peters\u200b (D-MI), has put forth a proposal in the Senate.<\/p>\n<p>Overall,\u2062 Maine&#8217;s\u200b efforts \u200cto ban &#8220;forever chemicals&#8221; in\u2064 food packaging \u2063demonstrate \u200da\u200b commitment to safeguarding public health and the environment.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\">Click here<\/a> \u2063to read more from The Washington Examiner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Environmental regulators in Maine are joining a few states in banning &#8220;forever chemicals&#8221; in food packaging. These chemicals, known for their slow decomposition, are used in water and oil-repellent linings of items like pizza boxes and microwave popcorn bags. Maine is taking action to protect the environment and public health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2000343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2000342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000342\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}