The Food Packaging Forum maintains a resource page with articles describing the biggest topics and discussions around food packaging. The most recent addition to FPF’s Food Packaging & Health resources page discusses the concepts of regrettable substitution and the precautionary principle.
When chemicals are assessed and regulated individually, the ones found to be hazardous might be replaced with structurally similar or other substances that currently lack safety data but may be just as (or more) hazardous than the original. This change from a known hazardous to not-yet-known hazardous substance is called a ‘regrettable substitution.’ To avoid this, the precautionary principle can be applied, which assumes that a new substance is not safe until enough data is made available to ensure it is.
Read more about these concepts and other common topics in the world of food packaging such as the circular economy, microplastics, and non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) on the Food Packaging & Health page.
Reference
Lindsey Parkinson (September 2022). “Regrettable substitution & the precautionary principle.” Food Packaging Forum
