News Article
May 12, 2021

Nature Food study finds gaps in food system plastics research

Systematic scoping review assesses the research literature covering plastic’s effects on human health, the environment, and food security/economics through the entire food system from 2000 through 2018; includes over 3,300 studies; found majority of previous research focused on food security/economics; identified gaps related to studies on the effect of plastics on human health, meta-analyses, and research within low-income nations

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News Article
March 15, 2023

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

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News Article
September 20, 2021

Hazardous chemicals in European products: new SCIP database

European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) launches database of all notifications from EU companies of products containing Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs); contains over 4 million article notifications from 6000 companies; includes articles such as food processors; Swedish Chemicals Agency launches pilot project to identify potentially hazardous chemicals early in product design process

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News Article
September 15, 2020

California legislature rejects solid waste bill

Assembly fails to pass bill AB-1080; would have required 75% reduction of waste generated from single-use packaging, all packaging to be recyclable or compostable; passes separate bill requiring 50% recycled content in plastic bottles by 2030

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Events 2014 Workshop

Hazardous chemicals in food contact materials?

The Food Packaging Forum’s second annual workshop was dedicated to hazardous chemicals in food contact materials (FCMs). A recent study by the Food Packaging Forum revealed that known chemicals of concern are knowingly and intentionally used in the manufacture of FCMs. During the workshop, participants learned from internationally renowned scientific experts how hazardous chemicals are managed in FCMs, how their risk is assessed, how chemical analytical work helps to ensure the safety of food packaging, and what emerging issues are related to the risk of chemicals in FCMs. They also heard […]

News Article
January 11, 2023

Plastic recycling: company commitments and chemical safety challenges

Scientists report most large companies commit to reducing plastic pollution but focus on recycling; extrusion of recycled materials and legacy compounds in recycled materials as safety challenge; some substances increase others decrease with the increase in recycled content in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles; tentatively identify 212 volatile chemicals in 57 different recycled PET flakes available in China; present migration model to characterize the exposure and risk of PET oligomers

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News Article
April 6, 2022

Microplastics measured in human blood and mouse brains

First human biomonitoring study encounters plastic particles of four different polymer types in human blood; in vivo study reports polystyrene nanoparticles pass blood-brain barrier and induce neurotoxicity in mice; review summarizes plastic particle and titanium dioxide impacts on human gut epithelial integrity, gut homeostasis, and intestinal inflammation

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