Perspective article emphasizes that the “invisible” part of polymers, the oligomers, have been overlooked with the focus being on the “visible” part, the microplastics; urgency to increase knowledge on oligomer properties, environmental behavior, and toxicity given their ever-increasing diversity, quantity, and potential toxicity
Overview of regulations and risk assessment of EDCs in FCMs
Peer-reviewed article provides summary of migration and risk assessment methods used internationally to address endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in food contact materials (FCMs); discusses legislative trends, remaining challenges
FCCmigex dashboard updated with more features
The Food Packaging Forum updates Database on Migrating and Extractable Food Contact Chemicals (FCCmigex) dashboard; free and interactive tool now includes filter for additional food contact materials like adhesives, coatings, and printing inks; full synchronization between data and reference pages
Report analyzes economic impact of deposit return systems
CRI and Reloop collaborate on assessing if there is a correlation between beverage sales and implementation of reuse systems; study is based on real-world empirical data; did not find definitive link
Plastic container fluorine treatments create PFAS
Scientists from Environmental Defense Fund and Green Science Policy Institute find fluorine gas treatment used on “millions of polyethylene and polypropylene containers each year” including those for food contact; treatment can produce PFAS that migrate from the material
Putting the EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability into action: Responding to hazardous chemicals in plastic FCMs
Third webinar within Food Packaging Forum’s Spring 2021 webinar series on challenges and opportunities for food contact materials (FCMs) within the EU’s Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS); featured two expert talks on addressing hazardous substances in plastic FCMs, considering substitution and simplification
EEB: At this pace, the EU will take centuries to regulate chemicals
European Environmental Bureau (EEB) analysis finds that it takes the EU two decades to regulate a chemical from start to finish; bottlenecks include industry submitting incomplete information, over-analysis by EU regulators, and the European Commission taking longer to decide about a Scientific Opinion than ECHA takes to draft it
India adopts migration limit for antimony and DEHP
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) amends national packaging legislation to add overall migration limits for antimony and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) from plastic food packaging
WWF: marine plastic pollution irreversible, strategies needed beyond recycling
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) publishes principles for chemical recycling to avoid harming human health or goals for circular economy; should not compete with mechanical recycling, need transparency about resource consumption; prioritize reduction, reuse over recycling; WWF and Alfred Wegener Institute report on plastics’ impacts on oceans; plastic contamination is permanent; at least 2144 species affected, 99.8% of seabird species will eat plastics by 2050
Plastics stay longer in the ocean than previously estimated, scientists report
3D-model study finds 3,200 kilotonnes of buoyant marine plastic litter in 2020, majority on the surface and >25 mm in size; projects annual growth of 4%; solves mystery on ‘missing’ sink for plastic pollution