Amazon announces ban on 17 chemicals in food packaging; includes per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polystyrene (PS), expanded polystyrene (EPS); restricted substance list (RSL) applies to Amazon Go, Amazon Go Grocery, Amazon Fresh, and Fresh grocery delivery
Recycling food-grade plastics in the EU
Recycling Today reports on the challenges of supplying food-grade recycled plastics even as commitments increase; European Commission registers Citizens’ Initiative to create plastic bottle deposit and extended producer responsibility system in EU; World Wildlife Fund Germany investigates packaging system to find ways to increase circularity, encourages reuse over recycling
Civil society urges European Commission to phase out PVC in food packaging
Zero Waste Europe publishes brief highlighting problems with polyvinyl chloride in food contact applications; advocates for restrictions due to health concerns from additives and microplastics; another report supports ECHA’s findings on significant risks associated with PVC; European civil society organizations petition phase out strategies
FPF comments on EFSA’s phthalates prioritization strategy
Food Packaging Forum (FPF) finds that the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) planned approach lacks clear recommendation for removing known hazardous chemicals from food contact materials; prioritization of food contact chemicals of concern should be based on hazard properties in alignment with the EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability
Renewable carbon for sustainable chemical industry
Position paper by nova-Institute highlights why chemical and plastics industry should switch to renewable carbon sources and illustrates how this could be achieved
Review finds hundreds of chemicals migrating from recycled and reusable plastic FCMs
Scientists detect 509 food contact chemicals in plastic food contact materials (FCMs) made for reuse; 853 chemicals identified in recycled PET; study points out key knowledge gaps in available hazard data for frequently detected chemicals
Walmart responds to increase in use of priority chemicals
US retailer reports 1% increase in footprint across its product assortment from 2017 to 2018; aims to achieve 10% reduction by 2022; plans to finish analysis and publish most recent data later this year
Hazardous chemicals in European products: new SCIP database
European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) launches database of all notifications from EU companies of products containing Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs); contains over 4 million article notifications from 6000 companies; includes articles such as food processors; Swedish Chemicals Agency launches pilot project to identify potentially hazardous chemicals early in product design process
Six urgent questions to address PFAS
Environmental Science and Technology feature article discusses six urgent questions to be answered to address worldwide per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances’ (PFAS) contamination and health impacts; describes importance, barriers, and ways forward for each question; emphasizes the need for cooperation, increased transparency, consideration of environmental equity; US FDA’s budget request calls for increased investment in addressing PFAS
SIN list highlights FCM chemicals
New feature allowing to filter for FCM-relevant chemicals has been added to the SIN List of hazardous substances maintained by the International Chemical Secretariat