New Zealand Ministry for the Environment announces plan to ban many hard-to-recycle and single-use plastic items by mid-2025; includes food packaging made from polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, and some degradable plastics, plus all drink stirrers, single-use tableware, and fruit labels; Western Australia moves Plan for Plastics ahead 4 years, banning most single-use plasticware by end of 2021; New South Wales to eliminate most single-use plasticware within a year
EFSA evaluates 2 new substances for use in FCMs
Adipic acid dihydrazide and 1,7-octadiene are not of a safety concern for consumers
ECHA director responds to criticisms
Interview with Bjorn Hansen discusses efficiency of data sharing across chemical assessments, incompleteness of REACH registration dossiers, identification of additional SVHCs, and the upcoming EU chemicals strategy
FDA releases PFAS method, publishes final survey results
U.S. Food and Drug Administration releases validated analytical method to measure 16 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS); announces final measurement results from foods sampled within Total Diet Study
12 SVHCs added to REACH authorization list
EU Commission places 12 substances of very high concern on the Authorisation List of the REACH regulation; 3 substances relevant for food contact materials
EFSA publishes scientific opinion on PFAS in food
European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) latest draft opinion proposes group tolerable weekly intake (TWI) limit of 8 ng/kg body weight for 4 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS); opens public comment period until April 20, 2020, plans technical workshop in Brussels on March 12, 2020
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
Phthalate exposure in pregnancy may alter maternal hormone levels
Urinary phthalate metabolites may be associated with altered maternal serum thyroid and sex hormone levels in Puerto Rican mothers
Opinion: EDC regulation must follow science
Nature commentary by Leonardo Trasande summarizes science on endocrine disruptors; calls on European Parliament to adopt science-based criteria for identification of EDCs to protect human health
EC meeting discusses future FCM regulation
European Commission (EC) holds meeting reviewing draft regulatory texts for 15th and 16th amendment of plastics regulation 10/2011 and for plastic food contact materials (FCMs) recycling regulation; contemplates regulatory options for novel FCMs including plastics with bamboo fibers; presents specific updates and timelines for future work