UK Government publishes first PFAS plan

The UK Government has today published the country’s first PFAS (also know as forever chemicals) action plan. PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) are used in a varietyof products, from food packaging to clothing and there is growing evidence highlighting their risk to both people and our wider environment. In 2025 a joint analysis by the BBC and Watershed Investigations of Drinking Water Inspectorate data, found that the regulator had written to a number of water companies ordering them to address PFAS levels in untreated water at a number of water treatment works, reservoirs, boreholes and supply systems across England and Wales. You can read the government’s plan here.

The environmental charity Fidra also has a website where you can find out more about PFAS and how to take the bead test, to find out whether PFAS could be present in your food packaging.