EU Member States vote in favor of European Commission-proposed criteria to identify endocrine disruptors in the field of plant protection products; both industry and NGOs view adopted criteria as ‘flawed,’ call on European Parliament to veto the proposal
SAFEMTECH project: closing conference on food packaging safety
SAFEMTECH project focuses on adhesives safety in FCMs and development of active and intelligent packaging
Further reactions to EU EDC criteria adoption
Denmark and Sweden maintain that EDC criteria require too high burden of proof; France promises tougher national controls on EDCs; Endocrine Society calls on EU Parliament to ‘gather input’ from endocrine scientists
Environment MEPs object EDC criteria
European Parliament’s Environment Committee supports objection to EU Commission’s proposal for EDC criteria, highlights unlawful exemptions for compounds with intended endocrine activity, calls on full Parliament to veto criteria proposal
Swiss authorities investigate paper and board packaging
Enforcement campaign finds mineral oils, plasticizers, photoinitiators, chlorinated substances in paper and board packaging; >50% of companies could not demonstrate legal compliance
Packaging of the future
Zurich University of Applied Sciences holds annual symposium; developments in sustainability, migration, and active and intelligent packaging discussed
Opinion: Scientists call European Commission’s proposed EDC regulation over-precautionary
Group of scientists calls for maintaining chemical regulation’s status quo; toxicologist and pharmacologist express concern that the forthcoming EDC regulation will not be based on science and erase established risk assessment approaches
PFAS under mounting scrutiny in Europe, US
European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) publishes long-awaited PFAS restriction proposal; includes blanket ban of all PFAS in Europe with two restriction timelines – all at once or in phases by use case; concludes PFAS in nearly all food contact and packaging applications have ‘high substitution potential’; NGO ChemSec adds 370 PFAS to SIN List; at least 28 US states expected to consider PFAS-related policy this year
Study characterizes chemicals present within recycled products
Scientific study characterizes chemicals contained in 210 consumer products made of recycled or virgin material regarding identity, functional use, structural class, and origin and prioritizes chemicals; 65% of chemicals with greater concentrations in recycled materials, along with a higher number of flame retardants, biocides, dyes, and fragrances in recycled materials
Study finds PFAS in 100% of sampled breastmilk
Environmental Science and Technology publishes study in which 100% of milk samples from breast-feeding mothers contained at least one of 39 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS); Phased-out PFOS and PFOA were most abundant compounds but currently used short-chain PFAS such as PFHpA and PFHpA detected in majority of samples and becoming more common; The Guardian reports chemical companies hid risks about short-chain PFAS in food packaging