Group of 10 NGOs file food additive petition to U.S. FDA, requesting banning of 30 ortho-phthalates used as indirect food additives; FDA agrees to reconsider safety decisions
EFSA: Updated risk assessment of five phthalates
European Food Safety Authority publishes updated risk assessment for the phthalates DBP, BBP, DEHP, DINP, DIDP; retains developed group and individual tolerable daily intake limits; finds no current public health concern but cautions that values set are temporary due to uncertainties
US congressional committee questions FDA about lack of action on phthalates
Letter from the US House Oversight and Reform Committee to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asks what steps FDA is taking to evaluate human health effects from, or to ban, phthalates in food packaging and processing materials
Phthalates petition: Call for comments extended
Comments to FDA petition on the use of ortho-phthalates as indirect food additives can be submitted until September 19, 2016
EFSA phthalates working group: 8th meeting
EFSA’s CEP Panel working group on phthalates supports EFSA webinar on the risk assessment of phthalates used in plastic food contact materials; webinar now available to watch online
Phthalates in vinyl gloves
Study by NGO Ecology Center finds ortho-phthalates in vinyl gloves used to handle food, urges use of alternatives such as washed bare hands, polyethylene or nitrile gloves
EFSA working group on phthalates: 2nd meeting
EFSA’s CEF Panel working group on phthalates reassesses safety of DBP, BBP and DEHP for food contact plastics; updated meeting minutes now available online
Phthalates’ impact on human health
Scientists compile comprehensive review on phthalates, focus on human health effects observed in epidemiological and clinical studies
Phthalates from food contact materials
New study analyzes phthalates in French wines and spirits, polymers and coatings on storage tanks identified as major source
Action needed on phthalates in food
Article in Environmental Health News highlights growing consumer concern about phthalates and other chemicals in food; action expected to happen in the marketplace