Plastic Recyclers Europe reports 1.7 million tons of installed recycling capacity for the waste stream, packaging still the largest use
FDA adds 7 substances to food contact inventory
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) adds seven new entries to its Inventory of Effective Food Contact Substance (FCS) Notifications since July 2020
Urinary Bisphenol A levels in pregnant women linked to reduced thyroid stimulating hormone in newborn boys
A study investigating the association of maternal Bisphenol A levels with maternal and neonatal thyroid hormone levels finds an association between maternal urinary BPA and thyroid stimulating hormone levels in male neonates.
Meetings on impact assessment to identify EDC criteria
EU Commission’s DG Sante to hold two roundtables on EDCs in April and May 2015 with Member States and MEPs respectively
EFSA assesses liquid absorber for use in FCMs
EFSA’s CEP Panel considers polyacrylic acid, sodium salt, cross‐linked safe for use in plastic food contact materials under certain conditions and for indirect food contact only
Opinions: EDC criteria without potency cut-offs
Group of international scientists and non-profit organization speak out against including potency considerations in the criteria to identify EDCs on EU-level
EU identifies four phthalates as endocrine disrupting
European Chemicals Agency identifies phthalates DEHP, BBP, DBP, DIBP as having endocrine disrupting properties; these substances already placed on Authorization List for being toxic to reproduction
New standard test method to identify plasticizers
ASTM International publishes method to ensure compliance with US phthalate migration standard
Review investigates challenges of assessing NIAS in plastic FCMs
Literature review summarizes challenges regarding non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) in plastic food contact materials (FCMs); describes 52 studies with their applied methodologies for NIAS extraction and identification, plastic types analyzed, and NIAS detected; highlights NIAS assessment as a challenge for scientific community and industry due to lack of hazard data, a missing harmonized methodology, and outdated regulatory guidelines
VKM identifies most critical food contaminants to monitor in Norway
Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment (VKM) provides guidance for risk-based monitoring of chemicals in foods previously identified as a potential concern; includes chemicals from food packaging and processing equipment