Will Your Food Wrapper Pass the EPA’s New Test?

EPA’s Safer Choice update pushes brands to rethink packaging materials, recyclability, and transparency

29 Jan 2026

A recent update from the US Environmental Protection Agency is prompting food companies and packaging suppliers to reassess how boxes, wraps and containers are designed and sourced, even though the changes carry no legal force.

Issued on December 2, 2025, the revised guidance for the EPA’s Safer Choice programme clarifies how packaging is considered when products seek to carry the label. While participation remains voluntary, the programme has growing commercial weight. Large retailers, institutional buyers and public-sector purchasers increasingly treat Safer Choice alignment as a signal of environmental and health standards.

The update places greater emphasis on recyclability, recycled content and the avoidance of certain substances in packaging. Materials that previously met cost and performance requirements may now attract closer scrutiny as companies evaluate the overall sustainability of their products. In response, some brands have begun asking suppliers for more detailed data on material composition and end-of-life outcomes.

Industry participants say the guidance reflects broader shifts already under way. Simplified packaging formats, clearer disclosures and more consistent sustainability claims have gained traction across the market. Linking these trends to a well-known federal programme reinforces their importance, despite the absence of new regulatory obligations.

“The Safer Choice program often acts as a signal rather than a rule,” said one packaging sustainability consultant familiar with the guidance. “Companies that want to appeal to environmentally focused buyers tend to watch these updates closely.”

For manufacturers, the guidance offers both an opportunity and a test. Early reviews of packaging materials and supplier information could help companies meet buyer expectations and limit future risk. At the same time, smaller producers may face higher costs linked to testing, documentation and navigating overlapping state-level policies.

By bringing packaging more clearly into the Safer Choice framework, the EPA is highlighting its role in broader sustainability assessments. What is framed as technical guidance is increasingly shaping how food packaging companies prepare for shifting market and policy expectations.