Study by regulatory enforcement officers highlights insufficient compliance work by polyolefin producers on migrating substances from plastics intended for food contact
Studies assess composition and safety of chemicals in recycled HDPE
Scientists analyze volatile compounds in recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE); detect 53 chemicals in two post-consumer HDPE milk bottles including plastic additives and non-intentionally added substances (NIAS); risk assessment shows samples do not comply with plastic food packaging regulation; report re-granulation process in mechanical recycling to remove most but not all odor and volatile organic compounds
European Commission proposes Green Claims Directive
European Commission seeks to combat ‘green washing’; proposal would regulate environmental claims and promote transparent communication to consumers; product claims will need to be independently verified, will launch new database of trustworthy labels
Greenpeace survey on plastic bottles
Soft drink companies have limited commitment to reducing single-use plastic bottles, increasing recycled content in PET bottles, considering PET bottles’ contribution to ocean pollution, according to new Greenpeace report
EC’s proposal for regulating printed FCMs
EU Commission publishes proposal for new regulatory approach for Union measure on printed FCMs, discussed during May 2017 meeting of working group on FCMs with Member States
Report: European supermarkets falling short on packaging commitments
Changing Markets Foundation and Break Free From Plastic investigate plastic pollution related actions made by 74 of the largest European supermarkets; Total average score of retailers was just 13/100, only Aldi UK and Aldi Ireland scored above 60; over 80% of companies had no information on total plastic use which “casts doubt” over plastic reduction pledges because there is no baseline data
Microplastics in compost
New study finds microplastic particles in compost from supermarket and household waste; plastic fragments most likely remnants of food packaging; potential source of microplastic contamination in soil and freshwater
Long-term migration from polyester coating
Scientists analyze long-term migration from polyester can coating, find hydrolysis of oligomers after long storage; modification of testing protocols suggested
EU roadmap for EDCs
European Commission publishes roadmap draft, details options for regulation of endocrine disrupting chemicals used in biocidal and plant protection products
Scientists propose and apply NIAS identification approaches
Review provides guidance to select analytical technique for non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) identification and quantification in food contact materials (FCMs); scientific studies analyze NIAS migrating from FCMs; develop model to predict collision cross-section values to identify NIAS in FCMs; detect polyethylene terephthalate (PET) oligomers in post-mortem blood samples