News
The Food Packaging Forum reports on recent developments across the food packaging and health field.
May 30, 2025
Study investigates commodity global plastic flows across production, trade, and waste management in 2022; finds that of 400 million tonnes, less than 10% come from recycling and less than 2 % from bio-based feedstocks; single-use packaging as biggest contributor to plastic waste
Reading time: 2 minutes
May 27, 2025
Scientists expose mice to environmentally relevant doses of starch-based microplastics over three months; report wide range of impacts, including disputed lipid metabolism, higher blood glucose, increased hepatic oxidative stress, and changes in gene expression, potentially disrupting circadian rhythms
Topics: microplastics
Reading time: 3 minutes
May 26, 2025
NGOs conduct largest citizen survey on waste in Switzerland; 11,586 people report disposing of 215,463 pieces of plastic in one week; 83% is food or beverage packaging; consumers raise concern concerns about health impacts of plastic chemicals and want companies to take more responsibility; NGOs highlight demands for action in Switzerland
Reading time: 2 minutes
May 19, 2025
Scientists assess 30 legacy and emerging per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in serum samples of 630 adults living in Switzerland; find legacy PFAS to be predominant while emerging ones are marginal; three PFAS present in all samples; some samples exceed health limits
Topics: PFAS
Reading time: 2 minutes
May 16, 2025
Scientists from the Food Packaging Forum, INSERM, New York University and ETH Zurich publish article in Nature Medicine outlining health impacts of exposure to synthetic chemicals in food with a focus on food contact chemicals (FCCs) from packaging and processing; identify exposure to FCCs as an underappreciated health concern; emphasize link between FCCs and ultra-processed foods; describe future research needs and policy recommendations
Reading time: 2 minutes
May 15, 2025
Review from the Nordic Council of Ministers assesses use of non-target screening (NTS) or suspect screening (SS) to identify chemicals relevant for regulatory action; evaluates 38 relevant documents for chemicals identified and study reliability; outlines current challenges of NTS and SS for chemical screening and regulation; recommends using only for early warning purposes until limitations are overcome
Topics: chemical analytics, regulation
Reading time: 2 minutes
May 13, 2025
The Competent Authorities for REACH and CLP (CARACAL) presented their plans for a revision of the REACH regulation; receives heavy criticism from industry and civil society; still under development and expected to be adopted by the European Commission in Q4 2025
Reading time: 2 minutes
April 30, 2025
During April plenary, European Parliament voted for ‘one substance, one assessment’ package; aims to increase cooperation and reallocate tasks across European agencies involved in chemical legislation and monitoring, create common chemical data platform
Reading time: 2 minutes
April 28, 2025
Regulation amending several EU regulations on plastic food contact material (FCMs) entered into force on March 16, 2025; broadens scope, addresses non-intentionally added substances, and introduces labeling requirements for repeated use plastic articles
Reading time: 3 minutes
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
