Half of surveyed people have difficulty with the difference between compostable and biodegradable; 50% of participants fail to dispose of packaging correctly; report suggests better standardization and consumer education needed
UV-328 qualifies for screening as POP
Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC) meeting finds antioxidant UV-328 (TINUVIN-328) fulfills all four criteria for screening as Persistent Organic Pollutant (POP) under the Stockholm Convention; next step is the preparation of a draft risk profile for the widely used plastic additive
EU governments consider actions on circular economy
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) publishes literature review to find and evaluate risks that could come from a circular economy, actions the agency could take to mitigate any risks; suggests further research on exposure risks from shelf life extending materials as well as recycled, reusable, and biobased packaging; European Commission proposes ecodesign for sustainable products regulation; Ireland’s cabinet passes circular economy bill
Global Food Contact Conference 2022: updates from Asia
Smithers conference covers global developments in food contact regulations and materials; speakers on day two review recent and upcoming changes to food packaging regulations in China, Japan, India, and Southeast Asia
EC publishes Circular Economy Action Plan
European Commission’s new plan includes specific aims to simplify packaging materials, reduce unnecessary packaging use, set mandatory requirements for recycled content, remove hazardous chemicals from product life cycles; timelines for individual initiatives published
Toxic effects of MOSH exposure
Dietary exposure of rats to mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) fractions similar to those accumulating in humans causes increase of liver and spleen weights; clinical significance needs further investigation
Pandemic providing opportunity for packaging innovation, resilience
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
EFSA calls for study proposal on implications of new EFSA FCM guidelines
EFSA to commission study of implications of new FCM guidelines, some chemicals may require re-evaluation
EU Parliament bans certain single-use plastics
European Parliament agrees on measures to ban specific single-use plastics in EU by 2021, sets targets for bottle collection and recycled content, extends producer responsibility and labeling
12 additional substances for authorization
EU Commission announces the planned addition of 12 substances to the REACH Authorization List, set to be added in October 2019