Food Packaging Forum (FPF) celebrates ten years of independent research on food packaging, chemicals, and health to help guide evidence-based dialogue across all levels of the food and packaging supply chain; FPF remains committed to reviewing and communicating complex scientific information with the aim of safeguarding human health and the environment into its next decade
Coca-Cola to continue using plastic bottles
Company head of sustainability speaks at World Economic Forum; says customers like plastic packaging, instead plans to increase bottle recycling by 2030
More retailers commit to safer chemicals
Non-profit organization Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families publishes second annual ranking of retailers’ safer chemicals programs; 10 out of 30 retailers take adequate action on toxic chemicals
Compliance throughout the food packaging supply chain
Food makers Wrigley and Nestlé highlight need to check compliance of food packaging throughout the supply chain
Testing finds antimony in common beverages bottled in PET
Study carried out by Defend Our Health detects antimony above safe levels in 40% of tested beverages sold in PET bottles; antimony widely used as a catalyst to produce PET; calls on manufacturers to switch to widely available safer chemical alternatives, address the numerous hazardous substances that can migrate from plastics into food, chemical pollution in communities surrounding production sites
EU Parliament comments on EFSA’s independence policy
European Parliament criticizes EFSA’s draft independence policy; calls on EFSA to introduce comprehensive cooling-off period for experts, consider research funding among assessed interests, apply policy consistently to all staff
U.S. hearing on international cancer research agency
U.S. Congress hearing on International Agency on the Research for Cancer addresses future funding; critics question agency’s scientific integrity; defenders talk of industry-lead campaign to discredit IARC’s monographs on carcinogens program
EU Commission solicits feedback on food irradiation
Public comment period opens on ongoing evaluation of EU legislation related to irradiation of food and food ingredients; comments accepted until May 25, 2020
EU Commission organizes conference on EDCs
One-day conference to take place on June 1, 2015 in Brussels
EU Court of Justice: no DEHP in recycled PVC
EU Court of Justice’s General Advocate recommends ban on bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) in recycled polyvinyl chloride (PVC); previous decision considered inadequate as it disregards endocrine disrupting properties of DEHP; NGO criticizes REACH lacking necessary tools to manage recycled materials