BackgroundCanada follows the OECD (2021) definition of PFAS, which refers to “fluorinated substances containing at least one fully fluorinated methyl or methylene carbon atom (without any attached H/Cl/Br/I atoms).”In other words, with a few specific exceptions, any chemical that includes a perfluorinated methyl group (–CF3) or a perfluorinated methylene group (–CF2–) is classified as a PFAS. |
In March 2025, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and Health Canada jointly released the State of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Report and the PFAS Risk Management Approach.
Under the Approach, Canada plans to classify most PFAS as toxic substances and implement phased restrictions across multiple industries. Companies and individuals are encouraged to provide information to support scientific decision-making.
The phased restrictions are outlined in the table below. Among them, Phase 2 specifically targets a ban on PFAS (excluding fluoropolymers) in cosmetics, natural health products, food packaging materials, food additives, and non-industrial food contact products, etc.
Table 1: Proposed phases of prohibition for the class of PFAS, excluding fluoropolymers, with example of uses/products that would be managed
