Next meeting of EU Commission and Member States on revised criteria to identify endocrine disrupters to take place on May 17-18, 2017; vote foreseen despite persisting concerns
Monomers migrate from plastics, some are EDCs
In a comprehensive review, researchers from the University of South Africa discuss the monomer migration from plastic food packaging, focusing on known endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs); migration process, potential health impacts discussed
‘The trouble with plastics’
Special issue of peer-reviewed journal Birth Defects Research presents a collection of articles on plastics’ effects on human health, with a particular focus on early development
Studies report on oligomer migration from food packaging
Scientists perform migration experiments for oligomer analysis; one study detects eight chemicals including six non-intentionally added oligomers to migrate from multilayer biodegradable teacups; second study reports on oligomer migration from polycarbonate tableware as ‘hidden source’ of bisphenol A (BPA)
FPF Workshop 2020: Values and transparency in science
Kevin Elliott discusses how values can influence scientific judgements or be themselves affected by them; transparency plays an important role in responding to challenges caused by value-laden judgements; contents and venues chosen for transparent communication need to be adjusted according to each stakeholder’s needs
EC proposes revisions to packaging and waste legislation
European Commission (EC) publishes proposal to revise the EU legislation on packaging and packaging waste; includes mandatory targets for waste reduction, re-use, and minimum recycled content in plastic packaging; based on three problems identified by an impact assessment: growing packaging waste generation, barriers to packaging recycling and re-use, and low recycling quality in plastic packaging
Repercussions of PFOA at Teflon production site
Article discusses history of PFOA, focusing on environmental and public health effects, legal consequences and regulatory implications
Flexible plastic packaging expected to grow
Market research by the Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies (PMMI) estimates 3,271 billion packaging units sold in 2018, led by flexible plastics and PET bottles; expects both material types to also see greatest increases by 2023
FPF Workshop 2019: Perspectives on innovations
Innovations improving the safety of food contact articles discussed during afternoon session; panel with guests from academia, non-profit organizations, start-ups and industry
EFSA publishes guidance on chemical grouping for risk assessments
Final version of European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) guidance prioritizes hazard-driven criteria for grouping chemicals; supports human health risk assessments of combined chemical exposures; recommends relying on mechanistic information on toxicity within a weight-of-evidence approach