European Parliament votes to block political group’s objection to classifying the substance as a category 2 carcinogen; formal approval for classification now needed from Parliament and Council of Ministers before coming into force 18 months later
DG SANCO stakeholder meeting on FCMs
European Commission holds working group meeting on food contact materials with stakeholders from Member States, industry and public interest.
EFSA: 3rd FIP network meeting on FCMs
EFSA’s Food Ingredients and Packaging Scientific Network held third meeting on food contact materials on May 24-26, 2016 in Parma, Italy
Which foods could use less packaging?
Study by Package Heroes project investigates plastic material content in food product categories and greatest potential for plastic reduction; finds reduction would have strongest positive impact for candy, ready-to-eat meals; data helps to focus research on specific product groups
Screening method for toxic chemicals in food packaging
Research project at the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, explores screening strategy for toxic chemicals in food packaging materials made from paper and board; endocrine disruptors detected and database built
New Horizon 2020 projects to research impacts of micro- and nanoplastics
CUSP cluster launches with five research projects supported by €30 million in EU funding; aims to investigate complex relationships between micro- and nanoplastics and human health over the next five years; Food Packaging Forum collaborates within the AURORA project focused on early-life health
PlastChem report synthesizes current science on plastic chemicals
Report maps scientific data on more than 16,000 plastic chemicals; finds gaps in current governance and knowledge that prevent effective management; recommends policy actions based on current state-of-the-science
EuroMix: research into chemical mixtures
EU project EuroMix has been launched to investigate strategies for chemical mixture testing
Guidance on barrier bags
Swiss Packaging Institute publishes new guidance document on barriers for inner bags of recycled cartons; sets benchmark for barrier efficiency to ensure minimal migration of unwanted chemicals from carton into food
Flexible packaging in the circular economy
Flexible packaging value chain launches CEFLEX project, aiming to improve packaging design, increase collection and recycling