International Food Contact Materials Safety Symposium in Guangzhou, China brings together academic, industry, regulatory and civil society experts to discuss developments towards safer and sustainable packaging
Opinion: GRAS anything but safe
NRDC director publishes open editorial piece, calls upon U.S. Congress to close GRAS loophole
Recycled PP for reusable packaging
FDA approves post-consumer polypropylene to make reusable plastics
Immunotoxicity testing for FCM assessment
FDA scientists review currently available tools, discuss how they might be used for developmental immunotoxicity assessment of food contact materials
Lead in U.S. baby food
New study by Environmental Defense Fund finds U.S. baby foods more frequently contaminated with lead than regular non-baby foods, urges FDA and manufacturers to reduce children’s exposure to lead
Six urgent questions to address PFAS
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
Experts call for more transparency on chemical data
Making raw data used in chemical evaluations publicly available would increase transparency of regulatory decisions
Report on chemicals in food packaging
U.S. groups Clean Water Action and Clean Water Fund publish report on food packaging chemicals; address health hazards and regulatory failures; call for greater transparency to drive changes in the Californian market place
Toxic Free Food Act introduced in US
Representative Rosa DeLauro introduces Toxic Free Food Act to United States House of Representatives; bill would require US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to publicly review all chemicals related to food that are currently allowed under the generally recognized as safe (GRAS) rule; novel chemicals and carcinogens would no longer be allowed under GRAS
‘BPA produced minimal effects’
GLP core study of CLARITY-BPA research program finds ‘few significant effects’ in rats chronically exposed to bisphenol A; American Chemistry Council emphasizes that BPA is safe for consumers