US California Toxic Substances Regulation for Food Packaging and Cookware (AB 1200)

AB 1200 (enacted 2021) prohibits intentionally added PFAS in plant-fiber-based food packaging, effective January 1, 2023, and imposes disclosure and labeling requirements on cookware manufacturers for any substance appearing on California's Candidate Chemicals list. Effective January 1, 2024, cookware manufacturers were also required to display the names of relevant chemicals directly on the physical product label, along with a bilingual (English/Spanish) advisory statement. On June 18, 2026, California's Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) added microplastics to the Candidate Chemicals list, with an effective date of October 1, 2026. Because AB 1200's disclosure and labeling obligations automatically extend to any substance newly added to the Candidate Chemicals list, this addition automatically expands the scope of cookware subject to disclosure requirements. Cookware manufacturers that contain or generate microplastics must determine, by October 1, 2026, whether disclosure obligations apply to their products. DTSC's 2024–2026 Priority Product Work Plan already includes preliminary research into product categories that contain or generate microplastics—including plastic packaging, synthetic textiles, tires, and paints and coatings—raising the possibility that the scope of regulation could eventually expand beyond AB 1200 into the broader Safer Consumer Products (SCP) program's priority-product designation process.