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
Klosters Forum podcast features FPF director
Latest episode of the Feed and Flourish podcast developed by The Klosters Forum discusses food packaging and the global food system with Jane Muncke from the Food Packaging Forum; examines interconnectedness of global issues, steps consumers can take
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
EFSA: Draft opinion on NMDR open for consultation
European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) draft opinion reviews literature on assessment of non-monotonic dose responses (NMDRs), finds lack of standards for statistical approaches; suggests stepwise approach for ambiguous ‘apparent’ NMDRs; approach applied in two case studies finds no NMDR for bisphenol A (BPA) but does for di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP); open for comments until February 4, 2021
EU sets ground rules for ‘essential use’ of hazardous chemicals
European Commission adopts guiding criteria for determining the ‘essential use’ of harmful chemicals, emphasizing that their use is justified only when necessary for health, safety, or crucial societal functions with no alternatives; essential use is not legally binding until incorporated into regulation