News
The Food Packaging Forum reports on recent developments across the food packaging and health field.
November 11, 2022
EU-funded training platform on responsible food packaging contains three months’ worth of free course material for both current and future professionals; developed by consortium of European universities specializing in food packaging; developments underway to expand platform’s training topics, provide validated certificates of course completion
Reading time: 1 minute
November 10, 2022
Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) reports progress, or lack thereof, on corporate packaging commitments set for 2025; plastic pact signatories increased portfolio of recycled, recyclable, or compostable products by 2% between 2019 and 2021; reuse decreased, and virgin plastic use increased; EMF calling for stronger governmental action and support of UN plastic pollution treaty
Reading time: 2 minutes
November 9, 2022
US Government Accountability Office (GAO) publishes report for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to improve oversight of food contact chemicals; recommends the agency request legal authority from Congress to compel companies to provide more information on chemical use and safety as well as systematically track when substances were last reviewed
Topics: US FDA
Reading time: 2 minutes
November 9, 2022
Publications from government, academia, civil society organizations, and consultancies paint problematic picture of a circular plastics economy; plastic packaging waste per person found to increase over last decade; low percentage of plastic produced is effectively recycled; pyrolysis (a type of chemical recycling) of plastics produces 9x more emissions than mechanical recycling; “biodegradable” and “compostable” plastics found to not break down in home compost systems
Reading time: 8 minutes
November 8, 2022
Minderoo Foundation finds liabilities from the health and environmental effects of microplastics and plastic-related chemicals to be worth more than $20 billion in the US by 2030; potentially up to $100 billion in liabilities expected by 2030 with the number expected to increase in the future; article published by the American Bar Association focuses on potential corporate liabilities from micro- and nanoplastics in particular
Reading time: 3 minutes
November 1, 2022
Nations in Southeast Asia collectively working on reducing plastic pollution and related chemical hazards; Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signs off on project to “combat” marine plastic; Thailand plans ban on plastic scrap imports; new research available on sources of plastic pollution in Indonesia and Vietnam; Vietnam and Singapore implementing stricter chemical regulations; extended producer responsibility for plastic waste becomes law in Philippines
Topics: ASEAN, Indonesia, Philippines, plastics, POP, Singapore, Stockholm Convention, Thailand, Vietnam
Reading time: 6 minutes
November 1, 2022
Scientists publish creation and implementation details of The NORMAN Suspect List Exchange (NORMAN‑SLE); now openly available as a FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) chemical information resource; includes 99 suspect lists and 100,000 substances; new submissions are welcome
Topics: chemical analytics
Reading time: 2 minutes
October 31, 2022
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) will review data to rate carcinogenicity of two PFAS chemicals at 2023 meeting; PFOA defined as “possibly carcinogenic” in 2017, PFOS never before reviewed; Agency seeks nominations for experts until November 28, 2022, data until October 7, 2023
Topics: PFAS
Reading time: 0 minutes
October 28, 2022
Review summarizes microplastics abundance and characteristics in human biological samples including current research approaches employed, challenges, and prospects; study indicates microplastics impact human meconium and placenta microbiota; review outlines current evidence on microplastic effects upon exposure during early developmental stage
Reading time: 5 minutes
October 28, 2022
Germany proposes restricting bisphenol A (BPA), other bisphenols, and derivatives as additives in articles to 0.02% by weight; also to introduce release rates to prevent migration into environment or organisms; proposal now under review by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) Committee for Risk Assessment
Reading time: 0 minutes
