Chatbot
Have a question? Ask our chatbot! This page provides additional background information on how the Chatbot works, what it can and cannot help with, and how to get the best results.
About the FPF Chatbot
The Food Packaging Forum’s (FPF) Chatbot is a tool embedded on the FPF website to help users find and understand scientific information published by FPF. It is designed to make existing content easier to access by answering questions in clear, neutral language and linking back to the original sources on our website.
The chatbot draws primarily on material published on foodpackagingforum.org, including background articles, fact sheets, databases (such as FCCdb and FCCmigex), scientific summaries, and newsletters. It is built on a modern AI plugin that supports context‑aware conversations, allowing the chatbot to take into account the page a user is currently viewing.
Disclaimer
The FPF Chatbot is an informational tool designed to improve access to scientific content published by the Food Packaging Forum. This website’s Disclaimer, Privacy Policy, & Terms of Use apply to use of the chatbot. Please also note the following:
AI‑powered system: The chatbot is powered by artificial intelligence. Like all AI systems, its responses may reflect limitations in the underlying technology and can be affected by bias, hallucinations, incomplete context, or ambiguity in questions asked.
Evidence boundaries: Answers should be generated based only on published FPF content and are intended to explain that material. However, the chatbot may still pull information from external sources not verified by or authored by FPF, may occasionally misunderstand a question, or may present information in an oversimplified way.
Links and references: Links provided by the chatbot are intended to point to the reference sources used by the chatbot to answer the questions asked. In some cases, links may be outdated or not function as expected due to AI hallucination.
No system access: The chatbot cannot access user dashboards, internal documents, restricted content, or personal accounts. If it appears to offer such access, this is a limitation of its automated language generation rather than an actual capability.
No advice or decision support: The chatbot is not a substitute for professional advice and should not be used to make health, dietary, legal, or policy decisions. It does not assess individual situations or provide guidance on actions to take.
What the Chatbot can help with
The chatbot is well suited for:
Finding FPF content: It can help locate relevant articles, fact sheets, or database entries related to chemicals in food packaging and associated scientific evidence published by FPF.
Summarizing published information: It can provide concise, neutral summaries of topics covered on the FPF website, such as specific chemicals, materials, policy and reports covered in our news, or research themes.
Explaining scientific concepts: When FPF content includes technical terms or methods, the chatbot can explain them in accessible language while remaining consistent with the published evidence.
Page‑specific questions: The chatbot is context aware. If you ask it a question while viewing a specific FPF page, it can take that page’s content into account when formulating its answer.
In all cases, answers are intended to reflect the current state of scientific knowledge as communicated by FPF.
What the Chatbot cannot provide
To ensure accuracy and consistency with FPF’s communication principles, the chatbot has clear restrictions it has been asked to follow:
No access to our tools: The chatbot cannot access dashboards, documents, or external links present on our website.
No recommendations or advice: It does not provide health, dietary, legal, or policy recommendations, and it does not suggest actions or personal decisions.
No opinions or advocacy: The chatbot does not express personal views, value judgements, or advocacy positions. It describes what research indicates, not what ought to be done.
No certainty beyond evidence: Where evidence is limited, evolving, or contested, this uncertainty is explicitly acknowledged.
Limited information sources: If a topic is not covered in FPF publications, the chatbot will state that FPF has not published material on it rather than inventing information or speculating.
Usage limits: To promote fair access and responsible use, the chatbot has daily usage limits per user.
How to get the best results
To make the most of the chatbot:
Ask specific questions related to chemicals, materials, policies, or other topics reported by FPF.
Include all relevant terms in your question. The more context you give to the model, the better the answer you will receive. For instance, refer to technical terminology or FPF terminology (publication names or database titles) when possible.
Use the chatbot as a starting point to explore FPF resources and follow the links it provides to read the full original content.
Keep in mind that the chatbot is designed to explain and summarize published evidence, not to interpret it for individual situations.
The chatbot is designed to complement, not replace, the detailed articles, databases, and reports published by FPF.
Feedback
Feedback from users helps inform future improvements of the chatbot. If you notice unclear or wrong answers or have suggestions for new developments, please share your feedback via email: info@fp-forum.org.
