How to Check If Your Restaurant Packaging Contains PFAS

Why Check?

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are invisible. You cannot tell whether your food packaging contains PFAS by looking at it, touching it, or smelling it. These chemicals are applied at the molecular level to provide grease and water resistance, and they leave no visible trace on the finished product.

This matters because PFAS regulations are expanding rapidly across the United States. As of early 2026, more than a dozen states have enacted laws restricting PFAS in food packaging, with more legislation in the pipeline. If your business operates in one of these states — or ships products into them — compliance is not optional.

Beyond legal requirements, maintaining documentation of your packaging's PFAS status protects your business. If a customer, regulator, or auditor asks whether your packaging is PFAS-free, having records on hand demonstrates due diligence. Without documentation, a verbal assurance from a supplier is difficult to verify after the fact.

The good news is that checking your packaging does not require a chemistry degree. The process can be broken down into clear, manageable steps that any food business owner or manager can follow.

Step 1: Identify Your Packaging Types

Start by making a complete inventory of every type of food-contact packaging your business uses. This includes anything that directly touches food or beverages during storage, preparation, or service. Walk through your kitchen, storage areas, and service line to catalog everything.

Common food packaging types include:

• Clamshell takeout containers
• Bowls (soup bowls, poke bowls, salad bowls)
• Plates and food trays
• Cups and cup lids
• Paper wraps and sandwich wraps
• Pizza boxes
• Paper bags (grease-resistant lined bags)
• Food trays and food boats
• Lids and dome covers
• Pouches and sachets
• Disposable food-handling gloves

High-Risk vs. Lower-Risk Materials

Not all packaging materials carry the same risk for PFAS contamination. Understanding this distinction helps you prioritize your investigation.

Higher-risk materials include molded fiber (bagasse, bamboo, wheat straw), paper and paperboard products, and any plant-fiber-based packaging that is marketed as grease-resistant. These materials have historically relied on PFAS-based coatings to achieve grease and moisture resistance. Molded fiber containers are the single most common category where PFAS has been found.

Lower-risk materials include glass, metal (aluminum foil, tin cans), and uncoated rigid plastics such as PET and PP. These materials are inherently grease-resistant due to their composition and typically do not require PFAS-based treatments. However, "lower risk" does not mean "no risk" — some plastic packaging may still contain PFAS compounds as processing aids.

Once you have your inventory, focus your efforts on the higher-risk items first. These are the packaging types most likely to contain PFAS and the ones most commonly targeted by state regulations.

Step 2: Check with Your Supplier

The most efficient way to determine whether your packaging contains PFAS is to ask the company that sold it to you. Your supplier should be able to provide documentation about the PFAS status of their products. Specifically, request the following:

• Certificate of Analysis (COA) — a document from an accredited testing laboratory showing the results of PFAS or total organic fluorine (TOF) testing on the specific product you purchase.
• Letter of Compliance — a written statement from the manufacturer or supplier confirming that the product meets applicable PFAS regulations, including the specific regulation referenced (e.g., California AB 1200, New York PFAS bill).

When contacting your supplier, be specific. Reference the exact product SKUs you purchase and ask about PFAS content explicitly. A general statement that the supplier's products are "eco-friendly" or "compostable" is not the same as a statement about PFAS content. Compostable packaging can and frequently does contain PFAS.

For a detailed template you can adapt for your own supplier outreach, see our supplier documentation guide. That guide includes a sample letter, a checklist of what to request, and tips for evaluating the response you receive.

Step 3: Understand Testing Methods

When reviewing supplier documentation or considering independent testing, it helps to understand the two primary approaches used to detect PFAS in food packaging.

Total Organic Fluorine (TOF) Testing

TOF testing measures the total amount of organically-bound fluorine in a material. Because all PFAS compounds contain fluorine, TOF serves as a broad screening tool that can detect the presence of PFAS as a class, rather than testing for individual compounds one at a time. This is the testing method referenced by California's AB 1200, which sets a threshold of 100 parts per million (ppm) TOF.

TOF testing is relatively fast and cost-effective compared to targeted PFAS analysis. It provides a single number — either the packaging is above or below a given threshold. Most PFAS-free packaging tests well below 20 ppm TOF, while packaging manufactured with PFAS-based coatings typically tests in the range of 500 to 2,000+ ppm.

Individual PFAS Compound Testing

Targeted analysis tests for specific PFAS compounds individually, such as PFOA, PFOS, PFBS, GenX, and others. This approach provides more granular detail about exactly which compounds are present and at what concentrations. However, because there are thousands of known PFAS compounds, targeted testing can only cover a subset at a time.

Intentionally Added vs. Trace Contamination

An important distinction in PFAS regulation is between intentionally added PFAS and trace contamination. Intentionally added PFAS refers to PFAS compounds that were deliberately included in the manufacturing process to provide specific properties like grease resistance. Trace contamination refers to very low levels of PFAS that may be present due to environmental background contamination, recycled content, or cross-contamination during manufacturing.

Some state laws ban only intentionally added PFAS, while others (like California's) set a measurable threshold that effectively covers both. Understanding which standard applies in your state is important for interpreting test results correctly.

Step 4: Use PFAS Packaging Check

Keeping track of which regulations apply to your packaging types in your state can be complicated, especially if you operate across multiple jurisdictions. PFAS Packaging Check's compliance checker tool simplifies this process by cross-referencing your packaging types against current regulations in your state.

Enter the types of packaging you use and the state(s) where you operate, and the tool identifies which items may require attention under current law. It accounts for differences in scope, thresholds, effective dates, and enforcement mechanisms across jurisdictions.

The compliance checker is free for one state. Paid plans cover multi-state operations, ongoing regulatory change alerts, and access to our verified supplier directory. For a complete overview of regulations by state, see our guide to PFAS food packaging bans in 2026.

Red Flags to Watch For

When to Get Professional Testing

For many food businesses, supplier documentation will be sufficient to verify PFAS compliance. However, there are situations where independent third-party testing may be warranted:

• Your supplier cannot provide a COA. If your current supplier does not have testing data available and you are not in a position to switch suppliers immediately, commissioning your own TOF test on the product gives you a definitive answer. Testing costs typically range from $100 to $500 per sample depending on the lab and the type of analysis.
• You operate in a user-liable state. In states like Minnesota, food service operators — not just manufacturers — are directly liable for using non-compliant packaging. In these jurisdictions, independent testing provides an extra layer of protection for your business.
• You are a large operation with significant exposure. If your business goes through large volumes of packaging (multi-unit restaurants, institutional food service, large catering operations), the financial and reputational risk of a compliance issue is proportionally greater. Periodic independent testing can provide ongoing assurance that your supply chain remains compliant.
• You are entering a new supplier relationship. Verifying a new supplier's PFAS claims through independent testing before committing to a large order can prevent costly problems down the line.

When selecting a testing lab, look for accreditation from a recognized body such as ISO 17025 and experience with PFAS analysis in food packaging. Several commercial laboratories across the United States offer TOF and targeted PFAS testing services with typical turnaround times of one to three weeks.