News Article

Plastic recycling: company commitments and chemical safety challenges

Scientists report most large companies commit to reducing plastic pollution but focus on recycling; extrusion of recycled materials and legacy compounds in recycled materials as safety challenge; some substances increase others decrease with the increase in recycled content in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles; tentatively identify 212 volatile chemicals in 57 different recycled PET flakes available in China; present migration model to characterize the exposure and risk of PET oligomers

News Article

New research on chemical migration from plastic, paper, can coating, and reusables

Recent reports investigate whitening agents’ migration from disposable plastic containers; characterize 153 chemicals migrating from paper packaging and show estimated dietary exposure for children to per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) exceed safety threshold; detect brominated flame retardants in repeat-use food contact articles; review metal can coating literature concerning coatings types, chemical migrants, detection methods, dietary exposure, and regulatory

News Article

Studies investigate circular economy barriers, consumer perceptions

Recent set of articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals review current barriers in flexible plastics to achieving circular economy, recommends regulatory policies be tailored to individual steps in supply chain; consumers easily confused by plastic waste management system, recycling processes, biodegradability claims; researchers instead propose food system shift towards decentralization, shorter supply chains

News Article

Measuring plastic particles released from food packaging and in human lungs

Scientists investigate plastic particles released from store-bought food packaging as well as human and mice health impacts of exposure; report single-use plastic products release >1012 nano-sized particles during use; find microplastics to suppress lysosomal activity in mouse macrophages; first detection of microplastics within human lung tissue samples; in vitro neurotoxicity study finds microplastics negatively impact human forebrain organoid development

News Article

BPA still in food cans

Extensive analysis in the U.S. and Canada finds most food cans still coated with BPA-based epoxy; BPA-free alternatives may be questionable

News Article

Scientists evaluate inhaled microplastics

Report microplastics occur in lower airways of European citizens with the majority being fibers; evaluate microplastics indoor and outdoor exposure sources; work out established particle domains and paradigms can help predict toxicity of inhaled microplastic particles

News Article

Monomers migrate from plastics, some are EDCs

In a comprehensive review, researchers from the University of South Africa discuss the monomer migration from plastic food packaging, focusing on known endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs); migration process, potential health impacts discussed

Publication Peer-reviewed papers

A vision for safer food contact materials: Public health concerns as drivers for improved testing

Muncke, J., Andersson, A.M., Backhaus, T., Belcher, S.M., Boucher, J.M., Almroth, B.C., Collins, T.J., Geueke, B., Groh, K.J., Heindel, J.J., von Hippel, F.A., Legler, J., Maffini, M.V., Martin, O.V., Myers, J.P., Nadal, A., Nerin, C., Soto, A.M., Trasande, L., Vandenberg, L.N., Wagner, M., Zimmermann, L., Zoeller, R.T., Scheringer, M.
2023, Environment Journal
News Article

Scientists investigate chemicals in plant-based materials

Review summarizes chemicals present in and migrating from food contact articles made with wood, bamboo, and other plant-based materials; researchers identify and quantify 25 non-volatile compounds from bamboo, palm leaf, wood and wheat pulp dishes; tentatively identify 115 non-volatile chemicals in extracts from six plant fiber/plastic composites; detect phthalates in Brazilian dry foods in cellulose-based packaging