Episode of The Indisposable Podcast discusses coronavirus pandemic and how reusable packaging could expand and innovate to help businesses protect public health, save money, and increase resilience; argue that a shift backward to single-use packaging not needed
Plastics identified as source of legal liability
Minderoo Foundation finds liabilities from the health and environmental effects of microplastics and plastic-related chemicals to be worth more than $20 billion in the US by 2030; potentially up to $100 billion in liabilities expected by 2030 with the number expected to increase in the future; article published by the American Bar Association focuses on potential corporate liabilities from micro- and nanoplastics in particular
New loopholes with revised EDC criteria
NGO CHEM Trust criticizes Commission’s newest draft EDC criteria for persisting high burden of proof and loopholes that allow continued use of endocrine disrupting pesticides
Benchmarking in vitro toxicity of plastics
Scientists investigate in vitro toxicity and chemical composition of plastic consumer products made of different polymers; high baseline toxicity of polylactic acid (PLA) bioplastics; food contact status does not necessarily imply lower toxicity
Beverage and recycling companies pledge increased packaging collection
American Beverage Association launches initiative to bring $400 million in investment to improve recycled plastics quality and availability in U.S.; Tomra aims to enable 40% of global plastic packaging to be recycled by 2030
Scientists propose and apply NIAS identification approaches
Review provides guidance to select analytical technique for non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) identification and quantification in food contact materials (FCMs); scientific studies analyze NIAS migrating from FCMs; develop model to predict collision cross-section values to identify NIAS in FCMs; detect polyethylene terephthalate (PET) oligomers in post-mortem blood samples
Opinion: Avoid FCMs with fluorinated chemicals
Scientists’ public statement recommends consumers to avoid nonstick cookware and grease proof food packaging containing poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs)
EFSA concludes that liquid absorber will not migrate from absorbent pad
EFSA publishes approval of liquid absorber polyacrylic acid, sodium salt, crosslinked for use in absorbant pads
Printing ink components identified in food stuff
Final report of a German project on the extend of the presence of printing inks from packaging materials in food stuff published
EU Commission publishes endocrine disruptor expert report
Scientific expert advisory group shares views on scientific issues relevant to endocrine disrupting chemicals