Recent research articles look at relationship between endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) from packaging and human reproductive health; find no relationship between a woman’s reported use of plastic food packaging and pregnancy duration and birthweight; identify potential non-monotonic dose-response relationship between di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) exposure and woman’s reported infertility
How to manage PFASs in FCMs?
Report by Nordic Council of Ministers summarizes existing knowledge on fluorinated substances in paper and board food contact materials, presents options for reducing consumer exposure
ECHA: Microplastics likely end up in soil and freshwater
ECHA’s risk assessment finds intentionally added microplastics more likely to accumulate in terrestrial and freshwater environments than in oceans
Final rule on GRAS
U.S. Food and Drug Administration issues final rule on food ingredients ‘generally recognized as safe’; specifies requirements for scientific evidence; notification remains voluntary
Reuters: advanced recycling projects prove not viable at scale
News agency reports advanced and chemical recycling projects from large multinational companies “flop”; projects launched in the last few years by Royal Dutch Shell, Unilever, and Delta Airlines to convert plastic waste into fuel reported to have all been dropped due to lack of economic viability
Packaging could be involved in spreading novel coronavirus
Study led by U.S. National Institutes of Health finds SARS-CoV-2 virus remains on plastic and stainless steel for up to three days, cardboard up to one day; raises concerns regarding packaging as a potential vector for spreading the virus, potential need to wash or quarantine packaged products at home
Australian government to start regulating packaging
Australian environment ministers agree to “address the use of harmful chemicals in food packaging,” create packaging design standards and targets, harmonize curbside recycling programs; details forthcoming
EFSA: 3rd FIP network meeting on FCMs
EFSA’s Food Ingredients and Packaging Scientific Network held third meeting on food contact materials on May 24-26, 2016 in Parma, Italy
FDA sued over GRAS program
NGO sues FDA over GRAS notification process, success would force FDA to revert back to pre-1997 rules
OECD report on polymeric PFAS
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) publishes synthesis report on less well-studied sub-group of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – polymeric PFAS; finds that these polymers can contain sizeable amounts of non-polymeric PFAS or can degrade into them; polymeric PFAS seen as ‘long-term significant sources’ of PFAS in the environment and in living organisms