Topics
chemicals of concern
January 10, 2025
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) selects five chemicals to undergo risk evaluation under the Toxic Substance Control Act - four are used in food contact; announces the next five chemicals to start this prioritization process which might eventually lead to risk evaluation and seeks comments on their usage and hazards by March 18, 2025
Reading time: 1 minute
November 15, 2024
European Ombudsman submits formal recommendation to European Commission (EC) on risk management of chemicals; emphasizes EC repeatedly misses deadlines for regulating substances under REACH; finds decision-making process is not sufficiently transparent; conclude it to be maladministration
Reading time: 1 minute
October 24, 2024
Article connects the dots between two global challenges: plastics and ultra-processed foods (UPFs); authors highlight how plastics have enabled the mass production of low-cost UPFs, leading to widespread health and environmental harms; emphasize that thousands of chemicals from plastic packaging migrate into food, many of which are hazardous and inadequately tested; urge joint efforts to tackle both issues, suggesting that addressing plastics and UPFs together could lead to more effective solutions
Reading time: 2 minutes
March 22, 2024
Two studies investigating chemicals from retail plastic food contact articles find considerable variability in complexity, with subsequent effects on cell-based tests of hormone disruption; many more chemicals measured from PVC and polyurethane than other polymers though the chemical mixtures from majority of the plastic samples are hormone disrupting; further evidence of PVC and PUR can interfere with GPCR-based cell communication
Reading time: 3 minutes
March 15, 2024
Report maps scientific data on more than 16,000 plastic chemicals; finds gaps in current governance and knowledge that prevent effective management; recommends policy actions based on current state-of-the-science
Reading time: 2 minutes
September 5, 2023
The "zero draft" is a starting point for discussion and amendments ahead of November's Plastics Treaty negotiation in Kenya; each proposed treaty element includes options of varying ambition; Part II focuses on elements of plastics' life cycle, including chemicals and polymers of concern; Option 1 imposes strict limitations, Option 2 mandates minimal usage, Option 3 leaves it to national action plans; Annex A provides potential criteria for determining chemicals and polymers of concern, along with options for development and usage within the Treaty
Topics: chemicals of concern, plastics treaty
Reading time: 3 minutes
March 23, 2023
OECD releases three reports; reviews approaches to support alternatives assessment and substitution of chemicals of concern
Topics: chemicals of concern, OECD
Reading time: 1 minute
