Health and Environment Alliance releases infographics on endocrine disrupting chemicals, focuses on the need to accommodate low dose effects and science advances into risk assessment
France bans TiO2 in food
France bans titanium dioxide in food by 2020 following report by ANSES reiterating 2017 recommendation to reduce exposures; EFSA does not see need to open reassessment at the moment
EFSA: Update on HDPE recycling for FCMs
EFSA’s CEF Panel provides additional information as requested by the European Commission on two HDPE recycling processes for use in FCMs
Report on plastic and health
Center for International Environmental Law publishes report about plastic risks across each stage of lifecycle, calls for lifecycle approach during decision making and for a variety of solutions and options
Plastic tea bags release billions of particles
Researchers measure micro- and nanoplastics released from plastic tea bags during brewing; find over 14 billion particles released per bag, record dose-dependent behavioral and developmental effects on daphnia
EPA publishes draft report on non-monotonic dose-response, low dose effects
Non-monotonic dose-responses not common, current toxicity testing sufficient concludes US EPA
Industry and NGOs applaud Parliament on FCM report
Industry associations and non-profit organizations welcome the European Parliament’s call for improved and harmonized regulation for all types of food contact materials
EFSA’s styrene assessment requests systematic review
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) panel publishes assessment of styrene in plastic food contact materials, follows 2018 International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) conclusion labelling it as ‘probably carcinogenic’; calls for systematic review of genotoxicity, toxicokinetics, species differences to determine safety
Public consultation to inform broad EU PFAS restriction
Group of five EU national authorities launch online questionnaire to collect information on the uses and alternatives to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS); plan to develop wide-ranging joint restriction proposal on uses of PFAS; information accepted until end of July 2020