UNEP calls for bolder government regulation of chemicals to boost development of safer compounds and phase out hazardous substances
Oligomers in polyester coatings for metal cans
Scientists characterize and quantify monomers and oligomers migrating from different polyester coatings, find migration into real foods compared to food simulants, question predictability of standard migration procedure
Microbiome and chemical risk assessment
U.S. National Academy of Sciences’ report outlines research strategy to assess the need for chemical risk assessments to consider interactions between chemicals and microbiota when estimating human health effects
Exposure risks of nanomaterials not sufficiently understood
Environmental Health Perspectives reviews work of Nano GO consortium, need to develop reliable assays and methods for engineered nanomaterials
Environmental exposures and diabetes
Scientists find parabens, bisphenols, benzophenone exposure associated with increased diabetes risk; review discusses potential mechanisms involved
Consumers want safe BPA-free coatings
New York Times reports on BPA replacements for can coatings, why alternatives are not readily available and ongoing scientific dispute about BPA’s safety
Opinion: EFSA opinion on BPA not scientifically robust
NGO suggests guidance for the evaluation of peer-reviewed articles, criticizes scientific robustness of EFSA’s scientific opinions
Consumers concerned about microplastics
More than half of German population concerned about microplastics in food, according to survey by German risk assessment institute; 45% worried about aluminum in food packaging
Experimental verification of migration modelling
Study uses novel method for determining partition coefficients for migration from polyolefins into foodstuffs and food simulants
EFSA: Evidence use in scientific assessments
EFSA survey identifies authority’s methodological needs for use of scientific evidence in its assessments as part of PROMETHEUS project