News
The Food Packaging Forum reports on recent developments across the food packaging and health field.
April 21, 2020
Environmental Health News calls for reducing public’s exposure to toxic chemicals within food packaging, processed foods; cites studies linking COVID-19 death risk to existing chronic conditions, calls out chemicals as exacerbating the problem
Reading time: 2 minutes
April 21, 2020
Food Packaging Forum (FPF) publishes background article and dossier informing about microplastics; discusses sources, analytical approaches, health hazards, and risk assessment
Topics: dossier, microplastics
Reading time: 1 minute
April 17, 2020
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) publishes technical report considering two new toxicological studies on bisphenol S (BPS) submitted under REACH; determines that current specific migration limit of 0.05 mg/kg food remains unaffected, calls for more data on migration into food
Topics: bisphenol S
Reading time: 1 minute
April 17, 2020
German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) publishes updates to non-binding recommendations for various food contact materials (FCMs); includes new migration limits for slimicides and aluminum in paper and board, catalyst residues in polypropylene and polyethylene, new monomers for polymer dispersions
Topics: migration, regulation
Reading time: 1 minute
April 17, 2020
Current migration limit of 0.5 mg/L in glazed pottery criticized as not protective for workers; government announces new standard will be released in 2020, no further details provided
Topics: lead
Reading time: 1 minute
April 17, 2020
Civil society organizations publish report summarizing existing government policies across US states for disclosing information about chemical ingredients in consumer products
Topics: regulation, risk communication
Reading time: 1 minute
April 15, 2020
2020 edition of packaging industry event centers almost exclusively around issues of plastic pollution and recycling; next year’s conference to take place on February 8-10, 2021
Reading time: 2 minutes
April 14, 2020
Publication in the journal Nature reports new enzyme able to break down 90% of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic into monomers within ten hours, outperforms all previously discovered enzymes
Reading time: 1 minute
April 14, 2020
Report by research firm Markets and Markets focuses on “eco-friendly food packaging”; expects paper and paperboard packaging to post significant growth through 2025 with Asia-Pacific region to see largest increase; growth catalyzed by stringent regulations and shift in consumer preferences
Topics: market, paper & board
Reading time: 2 minutes
April 9, 2020
Scientists review studies reporting that some endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can affect development and functions of human immune cells; consequences include altered responses to infections and development of immune related diseases; food contact material (FCM)-relevant immunomodulatory EDCs include bisphenols, phthalates, triclosan
Reading time: 2 minutes
