EU Commission opens commenting period for draft regulation on BPA in varnishes and coatings for food contact, establishes new specific migration limit of 0.05 mg/kg food; no BPA migration permitted from food contact plastics for infants and toddlers
India adopts migration limit for antimony and DEHP
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) amends national packaging legislation to add overall migration limits for antimony and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) from plastic food packaging
Unwanted chemicals in canned tuna
Danish consumer council finds BADGE in metal packaging of tuna as well as plasticizers in the metal closure of a tuna glass jar; none of the tested packaging products contained BPA, BPF, or BPS; all tuna fish contained heavy metals, some contained BADGE and one ATBC
India updating ionomer resin standard
Bureau of Indian Standards publishes draft update to standard for ionomer resins in contact with foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, and drinking water; accepting comments on the proposal until December 6, 2022
EFSA approves two food contact substances
New processing agents do not raise safety concerns for consumers, will be used in various types of plastics
Mexico to update lead limits in pottery
Current migration limit of 0.5 mg/L in glazed pottery criticized as not protective for workers; government announces new standard will be released in 2020, no further details provided
Studies detect microplastics in food and link it to packaging, processing equipment
Several articles published since the beginning of 2023 have analyzed plastic particles in packaged foods and beverages, including salt, sugar, canned fish, bottled water, soft drinks, and cold tea; draw a connection to packaging and food processing; migration studies demonstrate particle release from plastic food containers and breastmilk storage bags; review develops 10 criteria for data quality assessment and find most studies “unreliable” on one or more criteria
Public consultation on PFOS and PFOA
US EPA opens public comment period on perfluorinated substances PFOS and PFOA, also used in food contact
DEHP affected reproductive function in female mice
Prenatal exposure to diethylhexyl phthalate increased male-to-female sex ratio, altered ovarian morphology and caused some breeding abnormalities
Safety of DEHCH
EFSA assesses safety of bis(2-ethylhexyl)cyclohexane-1,4-dicarboxylate (DEHCH) for use as plasticizer in PVC; concluded to present no safety concerns; uncertainty remains about bioaccumulation potential in humans