Toxic chemicals may migrate into food or beverage products from food contact materials.

Market leaders take responsibility for their own operations, and also for their upstream supply chain.

Find out how to prevent potential harm to your customers, the environment, and your bottom line.

Food contact safety - conveyor belt

Pick a starting point in your supply chain:

We'll help you choose safer, more sustainable alternatives that are available and effective.

1. DETOX PRIVATE-LABEL PACKAGING
Cap liners on bottles & jars »
Can coatings (coming Soon)

2. AVOID TOXIC FOOD SERVICE WARE
Disposable gloves »
Plastic wrap »
Containers (coming soon) »

3. HOLD BRAND OWNERS ACCOUNTABLE

1. DETOX YOUR PACKAGING
Cap liners on bottles & jars »
Can coatings (coming Soon)

2. CLEAN UP YOUR PROCESSING PLANTS
Tubing »
Conveyor belts »

3. HOLD YOUR SUPPLIERS ACCOUNTABLE

1. DETOX YOUR EQUIPMENT
Tubing »
Conveyor belts »

2. CLEAN UP YOUR PACKAGING
Cap liners on bottles & jars »
Can coatings (coming Soon)

3. HOLD YOUR AGRICULTURAL SUPPLIERS ACCOUNTABLE

1. CLEAN UP YOUR OPERATIONS
Dairy inflations »
Conveyor belts »
Tubing »

Three things all food companies should do: 

#1 Adopt a Public Policy

 Market leaders should adopt safer chemicals policies to track and restrict the use of hazardous substances in food service ware, packaging, and processing across their supply chain. They adopt quantifiable goals to avoid or reduce the use of chemicals of concern and virgin plastics. They embrace transparency and continuous improvement of the safety and sustainability of all food contact materials. the policy should steadily expand to encompass the entire supply chain for both ingredients and food contact materials.

#2 Ask Suppliers to Disclose

Holding suppliers accountable is a mark of effective chemicals management. Suppliers of both ingredients and materials should be required to fully disclose the chemical content of all food contact articles, including type of plastic, rubber or other materials. If they don’t know, they should ask suppliers further up the supply chain. Third party vendors can overcome any confidentiality issues. Full sharing of information up and down the supply chain remains critical for food safety.

#3 Report on Progress

Every food company should publish an annual corporate sustainability report that includes gains made in knowing and disclosing the chemistry of food contact articles in its supply chain. Each should report on progress made on reducing or eliminating chemicals and plastics of environmental health concern. Disclose efforts to ensure that alternative chemicals and materials are truly safer. Take credit for any investments or collaborations to develop safer, more sustainable food contact materials.

Find Out More

Chipotle marks sustainability goals with innovative "glove story"

"We want to revolutionize the way people think about waste and the potential for everyday items like gloves and trash bags.”

Major brands like Chipotle are pioneering practices phase out articles made with toxic chemicals and reduce waste.

Food contact safety - metal bottle caps

Capped with toxics: toxic chemicals found in liners of bottle caps

A report detailing the testing and analysis of hundreds of bottle caps sampled from 141 brands of soda, kombucha, juice, water, and ready-to-drink tea and coffee sold in glass bottles. We found dozens of brands containing toxic chemicals in their sampled liners.

Food contact safety - metal bottle caps
Food contact safety - mac and cheese

Annie’s Pledges to Purge a Class of Chemicals From Its Mac and Cheese - New York Times

"The chemicals could enter the food in many places along the supply chain, including at the farm, where flexible plastic tubes carry milk from the barn, or in the making of the cardboard container that holds the noodles. The chemicals tend to collect in foods with a high fat content, such as cheese."

Food contact safety - mac and cheese
food contact safety - containers

The Retailer Report Card

"A growing body of science has linked exposure to toxic chemicals to health problems and diseases such as cancer, learning and developmental disabilities, and reproductive disorders. Although these chemicals come from multiple sources, many are present in the products we buy."

Check out the Retailer Report Card for detailed findings on retailers that are adopting and implementing policies that restrict classes of toxic chemicals.

food contact safety - containers