South Korea updates Standards and Specifications for Utensils, Containers, and Packages; releases 2021 Food and Drug Safety White Paper; China updates precision level on food packaging migration requirements; Taiwan to monitor the use of nitrogen in food packaging; Hong Kong statutory authority encourages stricter standards for silicone food contact articles
Washington state publishes draft PFAS action plan
Department of Ecology (DoE) for US state of Washington outlines recommendations to reduce impacts of PFAS on public and environmental health; focuses on drinking water, environmental concentrations, waste streams, consumer products; open for public comment until December 7, 2020
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
Swiss authorities investigate paper and board packaging
Enforcement campaign finds mineral oils, plasticizers, photoinitiators, chlorinated substances in paper and board packaging; >50% of companies could not demonstrate legal compliance
Opinions: EDC criteria without potency cut-offs
Group of international scientists and non-profit organization speak out against including potency considerations in the criteria to identify EDCs on EU-level
CEP: Open 3rd plenary meeting
EFSA’s CEP Panel to hold 3rd plenary meeting on October 23-25, 2018, open to observers; registration for in-person attendance open until October 12, 2018; registration deadline for webstream October 22, 2018
European industry associations report latest recycling rates
On average, 80.2% of glass packaging collected for recycling in 2022 in the EU; Steel recycling rate reaches 80.5%; 70% recycling rate for paper and board in the UK in 2023; 40% recycling rate for plastics in the EU in 2021
Phthalate exposure and health impacts
Four scientific articles report on phthalate exposure sources and impacts; diet partly explains urinary phthalate levels in adolescents and children surveyed in the US and New Zealand; review of reviews summarizes human health impacts; finds studies on women “generally underrepresented”; study indicates three phthalates affect human oral health
EFSA approves use of additive in polyolefins
EFSA considers a polymeric antistatic additive in hydrophobic plastics safe for food contact
China solicits comments on FCMs, new resins
Agency announces expanded uses for three food contact materials and articles, three new resins, and one new food contact substance; public comments accepted until December 25, 2019