When manufacturing food, drinking water, or packaging products, one of the biggest concerns for a business is whether the final product meets the required safety and quality standards. This becomes even more important when the product is meant for export. A parameter that is now receiving increasing attention across international markets is PFAS.
If you have not dealt with PFAS before, then you must be wondering what exactly it is and why businesses need to test for it. PFAS are a large group of chemicals that have been used in different applications because of their resistance to water, grease, oil, and heat. However, their persistence has also brought them under increasing regulatory and scientific attention.
Hence, manufacturers, exporters, and packaging companies cannot simply ignore the subject. PFAS Testing in India can help businesses understand whether PFAS compounds are present in a particular sample and support quality, compliance, and export-related assessments.
What Exactly Are PFAS?
PFAS stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Rather than being one single chemical, the term covers a very large group of substances.
Their resistance to water, grease and heat explains why PFAS have historically found applications in areas such as coatings, food-contact materials and various industrial products. However, some PFAS can remain in the environment for a long period.
Food can also become exposed to PFAS through contaminated soil, water, processing environments, or certain food-contact materials. The US FDA, for example, notes that PFAS present in the environment may enter the food supply through crops and animals raised or processed in contaminated areas.
Therefore, understanding where PFAS may originate is the first step before deciding what needs to be tested.
Why Should Food Businesses Consider PFAS Testing?
Suppose you manufacture food products in India and sell them only after checking traditional parameters such as microbiology, pesticide residue, and heavy metals. Those tests continue to be important. However, an overseas buyer may additionally request data regarding PFAS.
This is where PFAS Testing in India becomes relevant.
For food manufacturers and exporters, testing can support investigation of possible contamination and provide analytical information requested by buyers or destination markets.
The need can be particularly relevant when raw materials originate from areas where environmental contamination is a concern. Similarly, businesses dealing with seafood, agricultural products, or processed foods may receive specific testing requirements from customers.
Hence, testing should ideally be planned according to the food matrix and the actual commercial or compliance requirement rather than following the same test panel for every product.
Why Water Can Be an Important Part of PFAS Assessment
Water is another area where PFAS has received significant international attention.
For a food or beverage manufacturer, water is not simply something employees drink. It may become part of the finished product, cleaning process, or manufacturing operation. Therefore, the quality of the water can directly or indirectly affect the overall process.
This is one reason businesses exploring PFAS Testing in India may also need to evaluate water used within their operations.
ISSPL already provides water-testing services for various categories, including drinking water, groundwater, borewell water, packaged drinking water, processed water, wastewater, and other applications. Its wider laboratory capabilities can therefore support businesses that need a more complete understanding of their water-quality requirements.
Why Packaging Businesses Need To Pay Attention
Packaging deserves special attention because PFAS have historically been used for grease and water resistance in some food-contact applications.
For example, the US FDA announced in 2024 that PFAS-containing grease-proofing substances were no longer being sold for food-contact use in the US market. In January 2025, the FDA also determined that 35 related food-contact notifications were no longer effective.
The European Union has gone further. From 12 August 2026, its Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation places specific PFAS concentration limits on food-contact packaging placed on the EU market. These include limits for individual PFAS, the sum of targeted PFAS and PFAS measured through total fluorine-related provisions.
Therefore, an Indian packaging manufacturer exporting to Europe cannot look only at Indian requirements. The destination market also matters.
What Should You Know Before Sending Samples for Testing?
One common mistake is sending a product to a laboratory before clearly identifying what the testing is supposed to establish.
Before proceeding, businesses should ideally know:
- what product or material needs to be tested
- whether the sample is food, water, or packaging
- where the final product will be sold
- whether a buyer has supplied a testing specification
- which PFAS compounds or reporting limits are required
- whether testing is for routine quality control, investigation or export compliance
These details matter because PFAS is not one compound. The correct analytical approach can depend on the sample and the intended requirement.
Thus, the first question should not merely be, “Can you test PFAS?” Instead, it should be, “What PFAS testing is appropriate for our product and market?”
Do Exporters Need To Check Destination-Market Requirements?
Definitely.
A product manufactured in India may be exported to Europe, the US, or another country. Each market may approach PFAS differently.
For example, the EU now restricts PFAS concentrations in food-contact packaging under its packaging regulation. Meanwhile, the US has taken specific action relating to PFAS-containing grease-proofing substances in paper and paperboard food packaging.
Hence, businesses should not assume that one generic PFAS test report will satisfy every buyer or country.
Check your customer’s specification, applicable regulations and requested reporting limits before finalising the test scope.
How ISSPL Can Support Your Testing Requirements
If your business is looking for reliable PFAS Testing in India, ISSPL can support organisations through its wider analytical laboratory and testing capabilities.
ISSPL Limited is an independent Testing, Inspection and Certification organisation with laboratory services covering food and agriculture, water, environmental testing and several other technical areas.
Its food and agriculture testing capabilities already support areas such as contaminants, pesticide residues, heavy metals, microbiological parameters and other analytical requirements. ISSPL also provides extensive water-quality testing for drinking water, groundwater, processed water, packaged water and industrial applications.
This wider testing background becomes particularly useful for businesses that do not want to look at PFAS as an isolated parameter. A food manufacturer, for example, may also require assessment of water quality, raw materials and other contaminants as part of the same quality-assurance programme.
Plan Your PFAS Testing Before It Becomes an Export Problem
PFAS requirements are developing quickly across international markets. Therefore, waiting until an overseas customer rejects documentation or asks for additional analytical data can result in unnecessary delays.
Manufacturers, food brands, exporters and packaging businesses should identify their market requirements early and decide whether PFAS analysis needs to become part of their quality or compliance programme.
ISSPL combines analytical testing capabilities with experience across food, water and environmental testing, helping businesses approach such requirements systematically.
If you need assistance in determining the suitable testing approach for your food, water or packaging sample, contact ISSPL today to discuss your PFAS testing requirements and plan the appropriate testing scope for your business.
