European Court of Justice decision strengthens public access to data about chemical emissions into the environment; industry association worries about confidentiality of business information
Opinion: Food safety plans should cover chemical hazards
Environmental Defense Fund emphasizes that chemical hazards must be regularly considered in food safety plans; illustrates relevant procedures using the example of lead contamination in food
ENVI adopts EU bans on single-use plastics
EU Parliament’s Environment and Public Health Committee adopts draft EU directive on polluting single-use plastics and marine litter; European Parliament (EP) publishes key facts about plastic in the oceans, informs about the impact of litter and actions for reduction
BEUC, CHEM Trust call for reformed EU FCM regulations
European Consumer Organization (BEUC) publishes position paper on current EU food contact material (FCM) regulation, calls for answers to known deficiencies, harmonized regulation; CHEM Trust letter to European Commissioner for Health outlines concerns, recommends following five key principles
EU legislation on waste
Council of the European Union and EU Parliament provisionally agree on EU Commission’s proposals for revision of EU waste legislation; introduce new binding targets for packaging waste recycling, define requirements for extended producer responsibility
EFSA determines titanium dioxide not safe as food additive
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) releases new assessment of titanium dioxide as a food additive, could not rule out genotoxicity; change in opinion from last assessment in 2016; announcement does not affect food contact materials
Degradable plastics reduce recyclate quality
Industry magazine reports on contamination risks for recyclates, effect of reduced mechanical properties on migration risks not discussed
Politico presents concerns about the US FDA
Politico reports the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lacks clear leadership managing food safety in the country, leading to delays and impacting the health of those living in the US; Environmental Working Group study finds nearly 99% of food chemicals added to the US market since 2000 were introduced through the generally recognized as safe (GRAS) rule
REACH: Completeness of registration dossiers
ECHA commits to reevaluating the completeness of REACH substance registrations following a Board of Appeal ruling finding that ECHA has previously failed to adequately do so
EU Parliament’s draft resolution on plastics
EU Parliament’s Environment Committee publishes draft resolution on EU strategy for plastics in circular economy; deadline for tabling amendments May 3, 2018