Non-profit organization Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families publishes second annual ranking of retailers’ safer chemicals programs; 10 out of 30 retailers take adequate action on toxic chemicals
2024 food contact chemical and material policy outlook
Public and political concerns related to chemical exposures, human health, and environmental pollution continue to grow; brief overview of some of the EU, US, and UN policies and projects that FPF is tracking in 2024
Third round of UN plastics treaty negotiations conclude
Meeting in Nairobi ends with no consensus on intersessional work needed before next meeting; Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty represented by 37 scientists, including team members from the Food Packaging Forum; expanded and revised version of Zero Draft based on member state inputs to be published by December 31, 2023; next round of negotiations to take place in Ottawa, Canada on April 21 – 30, 2024
European Commission limits BPA in toys
DG Enterprise limits BPA migration from toys to 0.1 mg/l; limit based on voluntary industry standard
EU publishes PFOA regulation
European Commission regulation restricts use of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and PFOA-related compounds as a persistent organic pollutants; sets maximum concentration of 0.025 mg/kg for PFOA and salts, 1 mg/kg for related compounds; series of exemptions also in place
Opportunities for India to improve EDC management
Article assesses India’s current approach to managing endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs); identifies EDC actions as fragmented and far behind developed countries; proposes actions to move ahead by adopting new modern regulatory framework for managing EDCs, enhancing monitoring, raising awareness, employing public-private partnership programs
Canadian Federal Court overrules government’s plastics toxicity label
Justice Angela Furlanetto deemed the Canadian Environment and Climate Change Department’s classification of manufactured plastics products as toxic unconstitutional; the federal government is appealing the decision; single use plastics ban is still in effect
BPA and behavioral problems in children
Canadian study finds correlation between increased levels of BPA and behavioral problems in children and adolescents
Final Canadian phthalate assessment in 2017
Canada modifies schedule for phthalate assessment, final assessments expected for 2017
Canadian draft screening assessments
Two draft screening assessments by the Canadian government find no risk at current exposure levels for 24 substances, including 10 food contact chemicals