News
The Food Packaging Forum reports on recent developments across the food packaging and health field.
November 27, 2024
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a list of priority deliverables of the Human Foods Program (HFP) for the 2025 fiscal year; includes updates to pre-market review and post-market assessment processes; also includes plans to update chemical grouping methodologies and modernizing data monitoring of new chemicals
Reading time: 1 minute
November 22, 2024
Review illustrates links and aggravating dynamics between plastic pollution and other environmental problems; calls for measures addressing plastics as “an integrative part of climate change, biodiversity, and natural-resource-use policy”
Topics: plastics, regulation
Reading time: 2 minutes
November 21, 2024
Scientists study migration of non-volatile chemicals from 16 reusable plastic bottles made of 12 different polymer types; high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP), and silicones release highest number of chemicals; bottles have unique chemical fingerprint; call for comprehensive assessment for better consumer protection
Reading time: 2 minutes
November 20, 2024
European Commission (EC) implements restriction on PFHxA; includes transitional period of 18 months to 5 years; European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) adds triphenyl phosphate to candidate list of substances of very high concern (SVHC)
Reading time: 2 minutes
November 19, 2024
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) objects two petitions advocating for removing diallyl phthalate and 28 ortho-phthalates from authorization due to insufficient evidence to modify the ruling form 2022
Reading time: 2 minutes
November 18, 2024
Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI) adopts two new standards on plastic bags for food contact applications; will come into effect on March 4, 2025
Reading time: 0 minutes
November 15, 2024
European Ombudsman submits formal recommendation to European Commission (EC) on risk management of chemicals; emphasizes EC repeatedly misses deadlines for regulating substances under REACH; finds decision-making process is not sufficiently transparent; conclude it to be maladministration
Reading time: 1 minute
November 14, 2024
VERMEER FCM tool allows modeling migration of organic chemicals from plastic food contact materials (FCMs), predicting selected toxicological endpoints, and comparing with European regulatory information; based on several in silico models; designed to assist risk assessment of FCMs; openly available
Reading time: 2 minutes
November 12, 2024
European Union Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) study reports nanomaterials in consumer products including food contact materials (FCMs) still on the rise; find “systematic” migration of nanoparticles from FCMs; silver studied the most; no general conclusions on toxicity; review identifies further research gaps and calls to advance regulatory framework to mitigate potential risks associated with nanoparticles in FCMs
Topics: nanomaterials, nanoparticles
Reading time: 5 minutes
November 8, 2024
Describes the function and properties of food packaging and the pros and cons of the different food contact materials in fulfilling them; calls for future research to investigate how repeated use affects the packaging’s mechanical performance and thermal stability
Topics: circular economy, reuse
Reading time: 3 minutes
