News
The Food Packaging Forum reports on recent developments across the food packaging and health field.
April 25, 2025
Consumer survey by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) shows that 68% and 16 % are very or medium concerned about “microplastics in food; “plastics” were rated as the second greatest health risk for consumers
Topics: microplastics
Reading time: 1 minute
April 15, 2025
A coalition of ten Swiss civil society organizations call on the Swiss government to strengthen measures against plastic pollution; want to see ban on unnecessary single-use items and phase out of hazardous chemicals in plastic packaging; call for recognition of plastic pollution as not only an environmental but also a health issue
Topics: plastic, Switzerland
Reading time: 2 minutes
April 14, 2025
Scientists perform targeted and non-targeted chemical screening of 33 bio-based dishes; report melamine presence in majority of tested bamboo tableware; migration partly exceeds EU’s legal limit; besides melamine, up to eleven different pesticide residues detected per bio-based container
Topics: melamine
Reading time: 2 minutes
April 11, 2025
Study investigates organophosphates, phthalates and other plasticizers in 52 ultra-processed plant-based foods; finds these chemicals in higher levels than in comparable animal-based foods; cheese-alternatives more contaminated than meat- and fish-alternatives; identifies food packaging as one source of contamination
Topics: extraction, food processing
Reading time: 2 minutes
April 10, 2025
German consumer organization analyzes ten pizza boxes for bisphenol A (BPA) and bisphenol S (BPS); detects BPA and BPS in nine and eight, respectively; migration into pizza was found in four samples for BPA and eight for BPS; attributes bisphenol content to contaminated recycling streams
Reading time: 2 minutes
April 3, 2025
Government of Canada releases final State of Per- and Polyfluroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Report examining PFAS as a class; concludes that PFAS are toxic; proposes phased risk management approach to limit environmental and human exposure; public consultations open until May 7, 2025
Reading time: 3 minutes
April 2, 2025
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is mandated by the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) that entered into force on February 11, 2025, to carry out study identifying chemicals of concern in food packaging; report to be submitted by September 2026
Reading time: 1 minute
March 27, 2025
New version of Understanding Packaging (UP) Scorecard launched; applies an updated chemicals of concern list, provides access to a new interactive user guide, and allows users to compare entire portfolios of foodware and packaging products
Reading time: 2 minutes
March 19, 2025
Scientists of the Food Packaging Forum (FPF) comment on public consultation on re-assessment of public health risks related to plastic food contact materials containing styrene; find the draft opinion’s scope is insufficient; raise concerns about reliance on industry-funded research and lack of transparency
Reading time: 2 minutes
March 18, 2025
Nature commentary highlights common limitations of microplastic studies in human samples: small sample sizes, lack of controls, lack of biological plausibility; proposes international working group to advance microplastic research focused on transparency, collaboration, and rigorous standards
Topics: microplastics
Reading time: 2 minutes
