News
The Food Packaging Forum reports on recent developments across the food packaging and health field.
April 22, 2026
South American trade bloc MERCOSUR’s new food contact silicone regulation gets formally incorporated into Brazilian government policy; introduces positive list for silicones divided by use case
Reading time: 1 minute
April 21, 2026
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Human Foods Program publishes list of research, data, and methods needs; highlights knowledge gaps for food contact chemicals; includes PFAS, microplastics, and nanoparticles; Program receives $109 million increase in funding from US government
Reading time: 3 minutes
April 20, 2026
Scientists estimate that nearly 2 million preterm births and 74’000 newborn deaths globally in 2018 can be attributed to di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP); similar results for diisononyl phthalate (DINP); burden is highest in South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa; authors recommend regulating phthalates as a chemical class
Reading time: 2 minutes
April 20, 2026
The paper and board food contact materials (FCMs) regulation will go into effect in 2027; increases chemical safety controls for food contact paper and board; aligns standards with Europe
Topics: paper and board, Thailand
Reading time: 1 minute
April 17, 2026
Planet Tracker scores companies, countries, and investment firms by PFAS litigation risk; composite score combines legal cases, regulatory data, independent and self-reporting of PFAS emissions; interactive dashboard supplements report; for food packaging, “a relatively small number of firms account for most high-risk facilities”
Reading time: 2 minutes
April 16, 2026
Modeling by Pew Charitable Trusts and ICF International Inc. predicts annual plastic packaging waste to increase by 31% in the US from 2025 to 2040; municipal waste facilities may not be able to scale with the increase; implementing ambitious reduction, collection, recycling, and reuse measures could reduce waste generation by a third
Reading time: 2 minutes
April 14, 2026
Adopting reusable packaging systems and reducing dependence on single-use packaging could increase resilience; functioning reuse systems already exist and could be adopted elsewhere; US survey finds major differences in grocery store produce packaging, suggesting substantial reductions in plastic use are possible
Topics: reuse
Reading time: 6 minutes
April 10, 2026
Food Packaging Forum (FPF) submits comments on Health Canada’s approach to prioritizing chemicals in plastics; suggests additional, up-to-date sources; highlights chemical omissions in screening process; recommends development of new chemical risk assessment methodologies
Reading time: 4 minutes
April 6, 2026
Food Packaging Forum (FPF) submits comment to Parliament of Australia consultation on the effects of microplastics, “toxics,” and “forever chemicals” (PFAS) on human health from fetal development through adulthood; FPF-involved research projects AURORA and CUSP highly relevant
Reading time: 3 minutes
March 30, 2026
Scientists assessed the hazard of more than 500 antioxidants; identified 74.4% as toxic, 61% not readily biodegradable; study on 39 Chinese biodegradable food contact plastics finds they release several antioxidants under normal use conditions
Reading time: 4 minutes
