News
The Food Packaging Forum reports on recent developments across the food packaging and health field.
March 6, 2023
Colombia Plastics Pact launches; the second Latin American country to join the Plastics Pact program; reports show UK and US Plastics Pacts are unlikely to hit 2025 goals as total plastic use keeps increasing
Reading time: 1 minute
March 3, 2023
The European Standardisation Committee on Plastics approves new work item proposal on reusable plastic tableware; withstanding five dishwashing cycles set as a new criterion for labeling plastic tableware as reusable
Reading time: 1 minute
March 2, 2023
Minutes available from recent meetings of the working groups on food contact materials (FCMs), bisphenol A (BPA), and recycling plastics, within the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes and Processing Aids (CEP Panel); no further meeting of the BPA working group planned; specific migration limit (SML) for styrene in FCMs upcoming
Reading time: 3 minutes
February 28, 2023
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposes structural changes within the institution in response to recent critique; includes increased focus on nutrition, partnerships with other regulatory authorities and incorporating outside advisors; Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) publishes report on obesogens; encourages FDA to ‘incorporate framework’ to identify obesogens and other endocrine disruptors when reviewing chemical safety
Reading time: 3 minutes
February 27, 2023
Interlaboratory study evaluates protocol for consistent safety assessment of coated metal packaging materials; guidance comprises sample preparation, chemical and biological analysis; finds technical differences affect outcome; emphasizes need for aligned protocol to avoid inconsistencies
Reading time: 2 minutes
February 23, 2023
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) adds 26 new entries to its Inventory of Effective Food Contact Substance Notifications (FCNs) since August 2022
Reading time: 3 minutes
February 20, 2023
California State Policy Evidence Consortium and DG Environment publish reports on the abundance, health effects and (potential) regulations on microplastics and nanoplastics, respectively; first finds most regulations come from California or EU and concern banning microbeads or mandating more research; second argues against a lower size cutoff of nanoplastics since the smaller the plastic particles, the more likely they can cross biological membranes
Reading time: 4 minutes
February 15, 2023
Small pilot study analyzes saphenous vein tissues from five individuals and detects 15 plastic particles/g tissue indicating transport of plastic particles within human tissue; review concludes more research needed to elucidate the potential carcinogenicity of micro- and nanoplastics; researchers find potential connection between colorectal cancer and microplastic exposure level; preliminary study report microplastic presence in four out of six urine samples 15 plastic particles/g of tissue
Topics: epidemiology, microplastics
Reading time: 4 minutes
February 10, 2023
European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) publishes long-awaited PFAS restriction proposal; includes blanket ban of all PFAS in Europe with two restriction timelines – all at once or in phases by use case; concludes PFAS in nearly all food contact and packaging applications have ‘high substitution potential’; NGO ChemSec adds 370 PFAS to SIN List; at least 28 US states expected to consider PFAS-related policy this year
Reading time: 4 minutes
February 10, 2023
Review summarizes analysis and presence of oligomers in food contact materials (FCMs) made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), and polystyrene (PS) including challenges; study suggests ionic strength may influence migration of polyamide (PA) oligomers from PA FCMs
Reading time: 6 minutes
