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EU
August 8, 2022
Zero Waste Europe, CHEMTrust, and HEAL launch website for toxic free food packaging campaign; campaign focuses on the revision of the EU food contact materials law
Reading time: 1 minute
July 28, 2022
European Commission opens comment period on a plan to increase data transparency and data sharing about chemicals between EU institutions, Member States, and the public; goal to increase harmonization and sharing of information among the more than 40 chemical “legislative instruments” within the EU; comment period open until August 16, 2022
Topics: chemicals strategy, EU
Reading time: 1 minute
July 7, 2022
European plastics associations map Member State implementation of the EU single use plastics directive (SUPD) a year after it was supposed to go into effect
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June 24, 2022
Ministers of environment from 8 EU Member States write open letter to EU Commission to uphold the original ambitions of the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability during the REACH revision and elsewhere in EU policy; Commission should set date for when hazardous chemicals must be out of consumer products; regulations should include essential use concept, risk assessment of chemicals mixtures
Reading time: 2 minutes
June 22, 2022
European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) adds n-(hydroxymethyl)acrylamide to the Candidate List of substances of very high concern (SVHC); used in a wide array of food contact applications across Europe, Asia, Mercosur, and the US; obligates producers and suppliers within the EU to provide safety information and to notify ECHA
Reading time: 1 minute
April 12, 2022
European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) recommends 34 bisphenols be classified as substances of very high concern (SVHCs) as a group; three of the bisphenols already individually classified as SVHCs; for some bisphenols, more data necessary before classification; group classification can help avoid regrettable substitution
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March 30, 2022
Standing Committee of the European Commission debates a slightly revised draft regulation on recycled plastics in food contact materials (FCMs); voting carried out as written procedure; final decision expected to be favorable
Reading time: 2 minutes
March 30, 2022
Market research from German consumer organization Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband (VZBV) finds consumers are concerned about food packaging safety but have little understanding of chemicals in packaging; consumers assume all food contact materials and their components have been tested for safety
Reading time: 3 minutes
January 31, 2022
More than 40 representatives of the European public discuss concerns with EU institutions; panel on climate change and health adopts 51 recommendations for the EU; includes recommendation for ‘swift elimination of non-sustainable packaging’
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January 25, 2022
European Commission (EC) opens a public comment period on biobased, biodegradable, and compostable plastics; consultation will advise EC during development of new policies for these plastics; three areas of particular focus: sustainability of feedstocks, verification of biodegradation claims, and “widespread confusion” among consumers on terms and proper disposal routes; comment period open until March 15, 2022
Reading time: 1 minute
