On December 19, 2024, the non-profit law firm Earthjustice filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on behalf of eight organizations. The action aims to force the agency to reassess its authorizations for the use of specific phthalates in food packaging and food production materials.
The groups that Earthjustice is representing in the lawsuit include Alaska Community Action on Toxics, Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, the Center for Environmental Health, the Center for Food Safety, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Defend Our Health, the Environmental Defense Fund, and the Learning Disabilities Association of Illinois.
This legal action follows a years-long campaign that started in 2016 when the same collective of organizations filed citizens petitions asking the FDA to remove approvals for 28 phthalates allowed for food contact use (FPF reported). After ignored calls for a response in 2019 (FPF reported), the groups sued the FDA in 2021 (FPF reported).
In 2022, the FDA denied the 2016 citizens petitions (FPF reported) and reaffirmed their denial in 2023 (FPF reported) to remove the 28 phthalates from food contact approval. The agency also responded to a 2018 petition by the Flexible Vinyl Alliance in 2022 and removed authorizations for 23 phthalates that were said to be abandoned by the industry (FPF reported). Following this decision, five phthalates from the initial petitions remained authorized.
The agency received objections to these decisions from public interest groups asking them to group the 28 phthalates and ban all of them based on being unsafe as a class. In October 2024, the FDA denied these objections, maintaining that the submitted evidence did not justify modifying their ruling or holding a public hearing (FPF reported).
Filed December 19, 2024, the lawsuit directly responds to the FDA’s October 2024 decisions and asks the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to force the agency to reconsider its rejection of the petition objections and its choice to forego a public hearing. The groups continue to advocate for banning all 28 phthalates from food contact materials due to health concerns.
Reference
Earthjustice (December 19, 2024) “Petition for Review.”
Read more
Erin Fitzgerald (December 19, 2024) “Health Advocates Sue FDA to Remove Phthalates from Food.” Earthjustice
Kelly Franklin (December 30, 2024) “US FDA faces new lawsuit over phthalates in food contact materials.” Chemical Watch News & Insights
Bailee Henderson (December 20, 2024) “Lawsuit Filed Against FDA for Failure to Remove Phthalates from Food Contact Materials.” Food Safety Magazine
