On November 2, 2021, the US non-profit organization Center for Environmental Health (CEH) and Clean Production Action (CPA) and its stakeholders jointly negotiated and released "GreenScreen Certified" food Utensil certification standard to eliminate harmful perfluorinated and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in single-use food utensils.
Products that can be certified by GreenScreen mainly include disposable food utensils and materials (such as coatings), such as dishes, cups, plastic straws, cup lids, disposable gloves, etc. Prepackaged food and shopping bags are not within the scope of the certification standard. According to the chemical safety scoring system, product certification can be divided into three levels: silver, gold and platinum.
The certification standard mainly outlines the requirements and processes of GreenScreen certification. To obtain certification, product manufacturers need to disclose all the components of their products to the review committee. The review committee conducts screening and evaluation according to the certification level of the product; its composition Must not contain any substances on the banned list, including PFAS, bisphenols, phthalates, etc. While meeting the relevant testing requirements, the product or material must also be recyclable or certified degradable.
GreenScreen's certification is mainly based on CEH's experience in testing PFAS in food utensils and the CPA Hazardous Chemicals Assessment Tool. The certification, a world first, sets a new safety standard for single-use food utensils that are free of PFAS and other chemicals of concern.
