SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – Butter lovers are singing the blues because Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter has gone missing from grocery shelves, but the reason may be more ominous than you'd expect.
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The chemical PFAS, or per-and-polyfluorinated alkyl substances, was recently banned in the United States. It was found in the iconic Kerrygold gold and silver foil packaging, causing the product to be pulled from stores.
"These chemicals, these are the Teflon. They're stain repellent, but they don't break down in the body and they don't break down in the environment and they actually stick to our blood," warned David Andrews, a senior scientist with the Environmental Working Group.
Assembly bill 1200 went into effect January 1. It banned all food packaging containing PFAS, either intentionally added or present at levels exceeding 100 parts per million.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, PFAS exposure may lead to cancer, liver damage, decreased fertility and increased cholesterol.
Kerrygold has released a statement confirming that they are working on a packaging solution that will exclude PFAS and will be back in stores this week.
"Kerrygold always maintains the highest standards of health and safety as per U.S. FDA requirements, ensuring our products are safe to consume. PFAS are used widely across many industries, and while legislation differs in states across the U.S., we are, at all times, committed to complying with local regulation, hence why we made the decision to temporarily pause supply of certain products in California while we reformulated our packaging to meet these new regulatory requirements. We will be back on shelves from this week onwards. We apologize for any inconvenience."
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