Selling cookware and kitchenware online: PFAS disclosure and 'free of' claims

"PFAS-free" is a phrase many cookware buyers look for, and one of the riskiest to put on a listing. Walmart bars it, and its relatives PFOA-free, PFOS-free and PTFE-free, from titles, descriptions and images. It allows a narrower wording instead, with a certificate behind it. California asks cookware makers to list certain chemicals on the product's web page, and bars a "free of" claim when a chemical from the same group is present.

This page covers the PFAS words, California's cookware law, state rules, and the EU's food contact mark.

What this page covers: pots and pans, bakeware, utensils, food storage, drinkware, tableware and baby bottles.

The short version

• Walmart prohibits "PFAS-Free", "PFOA-Free", "PFOS-Free" and "PTFE-Free" in titles, descriptions and images.
• "Free of intentionally added PFAS" is allowed on Walmart with the maker's certificate.
• Cookware with intentionally added PFAS must say so on its Walmart listing.
• California asks cookware makers to list designated chemicals on the web page, and bars misleading "free of" claims.
• EU food contact items carry "for food contact" or the glass and fork symbol.

Can you say "PFAS-free" on Walmart?

No. Walmart's PFAS policy bars "PFAS-Free" and its relatives and allows one narrower wording:

The ban covers titles, descriptions and images, so a "PFAS-free" badge on an image counts as much as the words. Cookware with intentionally added PFAS must disclose it on the listing.

What does California's cookware law require?

California's cookware disclosure law, AB 1200, asks makers selling into the state to list the designated chemicals their cookware intentionally contains on its web page, and, since 2024, on its label. It also bars saying a product is free of a chemical when another chemical from that chemical's group is present.

So "PFOA-free" on a pan that contains another PFAS is the claim the law targets. The state's Attorney General has published an enforcement advisory on it.

Do other states regulate PFAS in cookware?

Yes. Several US states ban intentionally added PFAS in cookware or require labels, and the list of states changes. Check the rules of each state you ship to before you list.

What can cookware images show?

Cookware images can show food and the material label, but not "free of" badges without proof:

• Leave "free of" badges off your images unless the exact wording is allowed where you sell, with proof behind it.
• Show the coating or material label as printed.
• An image of food cooking in the pan is fine. An image that claims a coating is "non-toxic" makes a claim you would need to support.

What mark do food contact items need in the EU?

Food contact materials sold in the EU carry the words "for food contact" or the glass and fork symbol.

How Commicorn helps

• Keywords checked against the bans. The keyword step keeps "PFAS free" and its relatives out of a Walmart listing and says why, and marks "free of intentionally added PFAS" with what Walmart asks for.
• Your packaging, as printed. On the Untouched product route your photo's pixels are never redrawn, so the coating and material claims on your box stay exactly as printed.

Questions sellers ask

Can I say "PFOA-free" on Walmart?

No. Walmart prohibits "PFAS-Free", "PFOA-Free", "PFOS-Free" and "PTFE-Free" in titles, descriptions and images.

What PFAS wording does Walmart allow?

"Free of intentionally added PFAS", with the maker's certificate behind it.

Do I have to disclose PFAS in cookware on Walmart?

Yes. Cookware with intentionally added PFAS must say so on its Walmart listing.

What is California's AB 1200?

California's cookware disclosure law. Makers selling into the state list the designated chemicals their cookware intentionally contains on its web page and, since 2024, on its label, and may not claim a product is free of a chemical when another from that chemical's group is present.

What does the glass and fork symbol mean?

The glass and fork symbol marks food contact materials sold in the EU, as the words "for food contact" do.

Before you list

Have the maker's certificate behind any "free of intentionally added PFAS" wording, a PFAS disclosure for any cookware with intentionally added PFAS, images cleared of "free of" badges, and for the EU, the words "for food contact" or the glass and fork symbol on the product. On an edge case, Walmart's PFAS policy decides what a Walmart listing may say, and California's AB 1200, with its Attorney General's enforcement advisory, decides what a "free of" claim may say to buyers in that state, both cited above.