News Article

Growing concerns around industry lobbying in the EU

European Parliament opening internal investigation into lobbyist conduct related to the packaging and packaging waste regulation; civil society organization Corporate Europe Observatory publishes report of industry arguments made to DG Grow and DG Environment about the essential use concept

News Article

Congressional watchdog recommends changes within US FDA

US Government Accountability Office (GAO) publishes report for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to improve oversight of food contact chemicals; recommends the agency request legal authority from Congress to compel companies to provide more information on chemical use and safety as well as systematically track when substances were last reviewed

News Article

EFSA proposes to lower daily tolerable intake of bisphenol A

European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) re-evaluation proposes to significantly lower the tolerable daily intake of bisphenol A (BPA) from 4 to 0.00004 micrograms per kilogram of bodyweight per day due to immune system effects; finds many consumers likely exposed beyond the new safe limit; feedback accepted on the draft opinion until February 22, 2022

News Article

Global plastic waste management and emissions

Using data from over 50,000 municipalities, with machine learning to fill gaps, global model estimates 52 million tons of plastic were released into unmanaged waste systems in 2020; report led by Arnika investigates effects of waste incineration on the environment and human health

News Article

FPF Workshop 2020: Work of IARC explained

Kate Guyton reviews the work of International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), underlines the essential role played by independent scientific experts, describes processes used for evidence synthesis and carcinogen classification; key characteristics of carcinogens constitute an important approach to cancer hazard identification

News Article

EFSA CEP Panel updates from November 2021 to April 2022

Minutes available from recent meetings of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes and Processing Aids (CEP Panel) working groups on food contact materials (FCMs), bisphenol A (BPA), recycling plastics, phthalates, and extraction solvents

News Article

European Council approves framework for drinking water recast

Position supports recasting EU Drinking Water Directive to consider safety of materials that come into contact with drinking water; will specify minimum hygiene requirements, create positive lists of material starting substances, compositions, and chemical constituents