News
The Food Packaging Forum reports on recent developments across the food packaging and health field.
January 27, 2026
Review summarizes evidence of antimony migration, health risks, and informs on reduction guidelines; finds highest migration from plastic food contact materials; links antimony to cardiometabolic health impacts
Reading time: 2 minutes
January 26, 2026
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) publishes new dietary guidelines for Americans; notes health risks of highly processed foods and their packaging; calls for further research to fill knowledge gaps about chemicals in food and health
Reading time: 2 minutes
January 22, 2026
Scientists analyze 247 thermal food labels from 15 countries; report bisphenol S (BPS) in 48% of samples, replacing bisphenol A (BPA, 2% of samples); identify new alternatives; show film materials influence color developer migration from label into food: increased for polyvinyl chloride
Reading time: 3 minutes
January 20, 2026
Updated version of Food Contact Chemicals Priority (FCCprio) List introduces new resources; shows which chemicals have been used to make or have been found in relevant food contact materials; users can now compare their own chemical set(s) with the FCCprio List
Reading time: 1 minute
January 16, 2026
Report from Systemiq evaluates health and ecological impacts of synthetic pesticides, bisphenols, phthalates, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food systems; estimates annual health and ecological costs of 3 trillion USD annually; offers measures to reduce costs by 1.9 trillion USD per year
Reading time: 2 minutes
January 15, 2026
Food Packaging Forum (FPF) writes two letters to European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to highlight alignment of work on micro- and nanoplastics released from plastic food contact materials; proposes meeting to explore collaboration options; provides comments on EFSA report
Topics: microplastics
Reading time: 2 minutes
January 8, 2026
US EPA publishes risk evaluations of five phthalates; concludes they pose a risk to human health and the environment including endocrine disruption; specifically concerned about workers’ exposure; plans to develop protection measures
Reading time: 2 minutes
December 17, 2025
Consumer survey by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) shows that 67% and 15% of German consumers are very or medium concerned about “microplastics in food, respectively; only 39% feel well informed about it
Topics: microplastics
Reading time: 1 minute
December 16, 2025
French government agency assesses environmental benefits of reusable glass compared to other materials; finds glass performs better than other materials in most cases; assessment does not account for human health impact of plastic chemicals
Reading time: 3 minutes
December 10, 2025
Three studies compare virgin and recycled food contact polyethylene terephthalate (PET) using targeted chemical analysis; find diversity and levels of chemicals mostly greater in recycled PET; show that contamination increases along recycling chain; present method to quantify recycled content in PET
Reading time: 6 minutes
