Public and political concerns related to chemical exposures, human health, and environmental pollution continue to grow; brief overview of some of the EU, US, and UN policies and projects that FPF is tracking in 2024
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
Study detects DNA-reactive, mutagenic substances in recycled PE, PP, and PS
119 plastic samples including polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) tested for mutagenicity; no DNA-reactive, mutagenic substances in PET but in 51 of the other samples, making them unsafe, especially for food contact applications; recycling process identified as source; dataset of over 600 organic chemicals in recycled high-density PE pellets published
FPF Workshop 2017: Ensuring the safety of FCMs in a global economy
Presentations and podium discussion at Food Packaging Forum 2017 workshop cover risk communication, the role of testing labs and enforcement, regulatory updates, and transparency issues
Novelties of bioplastics: EC’s policy framework and industry updates
European Commission (EC) publishes policy framework on bio-based, biodegradable, and compostable plastics; aims to guide policy, industry, and public; “bioplastics” should not distract from circular economy principles prioritizing reduction, reuse, recycling; 17th annual European Bioplastics conference gives insights into recent bioplastics’ developments; bioplastics production capacities projected to almost triple by 2027
Opinion: EDC criteria and potency
Scientists for Scientific European Commission Regulation publish opinion on the European Commission’s criteria for endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs); call for potency to be an aspect of regulatory EDC identification in line with industry views but not supported by the Endocrine Society
Hazard- vs. risk-based chemicals management
Hazard-based approaches are criticized and risk-based management of chemicals is pushed for in Europe; doing so would weaken the protection of public health, International Chemical Secretariat (ChemSec) explains
European Commission reports on public consultation about FCM revision
European Commission (EC) publishes final report on consultation period concerning FCM policy revision; results feature citizens’ and stakeholder’s opinions on extent of FCM policy; Commission adoption planned for second quarter of 2023
Workshop discusses developments in read-across
Journal article presents summary of presentations and discussions from European Centre for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals (Ecetoc) workshop; finds new approach methodologies useful for read-across in chemical safety assessments, identifies areas for improvement
Scientists find most silicon rubber kitchenwares are endocrine disrupting
Study determines toxicity and composition of 42 silicon rubber food contact articles; finds 84% of silicon kitchenware to induce endocrine activity; review gives update on the known endocrine disruptors phthalates and bisphenols with focus on detection methods and addressing regulatory concerns; study develops and applies method for phthalate determination in vegetable oils