Events Webinar

Identifying chemicals and polymers of concern

Jane Muncke from the Food Packaging Forum presents on chemicals of concern in food packaging as part of a webinar dedicated to «identifying chemicals and polymers of concern» organized by the United Nations Environment Programme in preparation for the upcoming third negotiating session for the UN Global Plastics Treaty

News Article

JRC: Avoid pre-heating for migration testing

EU Reference Laboratory for Food Contact Materials completes study on the impacts of pre-heating food contact materials before migration testing; advises reference laboratories to avoid pre-heating

News Article

ES&T article scrutinizes claims made about reusable bags, COVID-19

Article in Environmental Science and Technology (ES&T) critical of safety concerns raised by industry association related to reusable shopping bags, argues their infrequent handling poses less risk than other transmission pathways; explains that single-use paper bags would be safer option than plastic due to lower virus survival time

News Article

Over 115 health experts sign statement on safety of reuse

Greenpeace and UPSTREAM publish statement signed by wide-range of doctors and public health researchers, emphasize that reuse systems in stores and restaurants can be implemented safely during COVID-19 pandemic by following standard sanitation laws; single-use items not inherently safer than reusables

News Article

FCM-relevant AOP research

Scientists explore adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) associated with bisphenols, phthalates, perchlorate, food additives, microplastics; discuss ways of using AOPs to predict chemical hazards, assess mixture toxicity

News Article

Studies detect microplastics in food and link it to packaging, processing equipment

Several articles published since the beginning of 2023 have analyzed plastic particles in packaged foods and beverages, including salt, sugar, canned fish, bottled water, soft drinks, and cold tea; draw a connection to packaging and food processing; migration studies demonstrate particle release from plastic food containers and breastmilk storage bags; review develops 10 criteria for data quality assessment and find most studies “unreliable” on one or more criteria