News
The Food Packaging Forum reports on recent developments across the food packaging and health field.
October 4, 2021
South Korea updates Standards and Specifications for Utensils, Containers, and Packages; releases 2021 Food and Drug Safety White Paper; China updates precision level on food packaging migration requirements; Taiwan to monitor the use of nitrogen in food packaging; Hong Kong statutory authority encourages stricter standards for silicone food contact articles
Reading time: 3 minutes
September 30, 2021
Small study assesses polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polycarbonate (PC) microplastics in human feces; finds PET and PC in all infant stool and in most meconium and adult stool samples; suggests higher exposure of infants than adults
Reading time: 3 minutes
September 28, 2021
Following France’s example, Spain’s Ministry for Ecological Transition is drafting a decree to ban the sale of produce wrapped in plastic by 2023; wants to discourage sales of drinks in single-use plastic bottles by encouraging the installation of drinking fountains and bottle reuse systems
Reading time: 2 minutes
September 27, 2021
Italian studies investigate consumer perception and attitude; find food- and packaging-related eco-labels to equally signal higher food quality and safety to consumers; demonstrate high willingness of consumers to buy active, intelligent, and sustainable packaging; survey in UK finds adding stickers with clear recycling messages increases recycling behavior
Topics: active packaging, intelligent packaging
Reading time: 3 minutes
September 23, 2021
Review identifies and discusses three approaches to limit chemical migration from recycled paperboard to make it acceptable for food applications; considers internal bags with an incorporated barrier, barrier layers, and functional sorbents added to the board; study on migration from paper cups identifies exposures to vanadium and fluoride
Reading time: 3 minutes
September 22, 2021
UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights issues report on the stages of the plastics cycle and their impacts on human rights; calls “the whole cycle of plastics… a global threat to human rights”
Reading time: 2 minutes
September 21, 2021
Environmental Science and Technology feature article discusses six urgent questions to be answered to address worldwide per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances’ (PFAS) contamination and health impacts; describes importance, barriers, and ways forward for each question; emphasizes the need for cooperation, increased transparency, consideration of environmental equity; US FDA’s budget request calls for increased investment in addressing PFAS
Reading time: 3 minutes
September 20, 2021
European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) launches database of all notifications from EU companies of products containing Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs); contains over 4 million article notifications from 6000 companies; includes articles such as food processors; Swedish Chemicals Agency launches pilot project to identify potentially hazardous chemicals early in product design process
Reading time: 2 minutes
September 20, 2021
In segment Count on It Dulcé Sloan interviews experts on ‘the sperm recession;’ reports semen volume, sperm count has declined in last 50 years while erectile dysfunction, testicular cancer has increased; discusses chemical pollution from plastics, personal care products as potential causes
Topics: phthalates, US
Reading time: 2 minutes
September 17, 2021
European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) symposium summarizes current approaches for microplastic monitoring; research institutions present results of 4 inter-laboratory microplastic analysis comparison studies; no ‘one-size-fits-all' analytical method, presenters emphasize need for harmonization; Commission outlines policy needs
Reading time: 4 minutes
