British Plastics Federation publishes guidelines to help companies incorporate recycled content into their plastic packaging; RECOUP issues updated guidelines for designing plastic packaging for recyclability
Basel Convention to control plastic waste trade
Parties to the Convention adopt changes to place plastic waste under the Prior Informed Consent procedure; requires plastic waste exporters to obtain permission from importing countries
EU court confirms BPA as endocrine disruptor
General court upholds classification of bisphenol A as an endocrine disrupter; dismisses case brought by Plastic Europe against European Chemicals Agency (ECHA)
EU: New regulation on official controls
Newly adopted revision of EU Regulation on Official Controls aims at simplifying the control system for food safety along the entire supply chain, foresees increased efficiency in preventing, eliminating or reducing health risks
AOP-based computational models for regulatory toxicology
Review article by EU Commission’s Joint Research Centre and collaborators discusses development and use of computational prediction models for regulatory toxicology and how it can be supported by the Adverse Outcome Pathways framework
Conference on uncertainty in risk analysis
EFSA and BfR to hold “International Conference on Uncertainty in Risk Analysis” on February 21-22, 2019 in Berlin; focus on challenges and advances in assessing, managing, and communicating uncertainty
EU Parliament vetoes EDC criteria
EU Parliament’s vote rejects EU Commission’s proposal for EDC identification criteria for pesticides; asks to remove exemption for the substances with intended endocrine mode of action, deliver new proposal ‘without delay’
EDC criteria for all types of products
NGOs call for horizontal criteria to identify endocrine disruptors in all types of applications, not just pesticides and biocides; urge EU Commission to redesign its currently proposed EDC criteria
EU authorization of PET recycling for FCMs coming soon
Euractiv article discusses imminent authorization of plastic recycling processes for food contact by EU Commission; concerns about chemical contamination and migration remain; adoption foreseen by end of 2018
Food packaging made from milk protein
Researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture develop biodegradable and edible packaging film made from the milk protein casein; applications include single-serve wrappers and pouches