Topics
risk assessment
March 10, 2021
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) publication aims to increase agreement on approach and criteria for alternatives selection, set minimum requirements to determine safer substitutes; provides guidance on setting scope, using comparative hazard and exposure assessments, comparing trade-offs; applies framework in example case study
Topics: risk assessment, substitution
Reading time: 1 minute
March 10, 2021
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) publishes update on risk assessment of hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDDs); results support conclusion that dietary exposure in EU not a health concern except for breastfed children; panel will consider mixture approach once risk assessments of all groups of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) updated
Reading time: 2 minutes
February 15, 2021
Krebsliga (Swiss Cancer League) forum discusses interaction of environmental factors and cancer; brings together experts from academia, non-governmental organizations, and industry; addressed topics including endocrine disruptors, migration, risks posed by chemical mixtures
Reading time: 2 minutes
January 28, 2021
Erasmus+ project FitNESS launches interdisciplinary e-learning platform; independent learning resource about food packaging and related topics from food science and technology, packaging technology, material science, toxicology, mass transfer, thermodynamics
Reading time: 1 minute
December 18, 2020
EU Commission’s DG SANTE publishes Inception Impact Assessment as roadmap for revision of EU regulations on food contact materials; outlines eight main “issues” identified during ongoing evaluation, possible policy options to be considered by planned Impact Assessment; commenting period open until January 29, 2021
Reading time: 14 minutes
December 15, 2020
Scientists explore the utility of-throughput screening data for hazard assessment and toxicological read-across of food-relevant chemicals; observe some biological targets to lack validated toxicity associations; demonstrate application in identifying out-of-domain compounds
Reading time: 3 minutes
October 14, 2020
European Commission (EC) publishes Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability; plans to ban PFAS for all non-essential uses, move towards grouping approach for regulation of all chemicals; specific actions for food contact materials (FCM) include extending generic approach to risk management, identifying endocrine disruptors, considering cumulative effects of chemical mixtures
Reading time: 4 minutes
September 25, 2020
Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) position statement promotes risk-based approach to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC) post-Brexit; three NGOs argue in favor of increased use of Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs) to identify EDCs
Reading time: 2 minutes
September 17, 2020
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) publishes final version of its opinion on risk to human health from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food; sets group tolerable weekly intake limit of 4.4 ng/kg body weight for four most commonly measured PFAS in humans
Topics: PFAS, risk assessment
Reading time: 1 minute
September 17, 2020
Assessment performed by Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) finds total human exposure through food, consumer products, and soil far below weekly health guidance value
Topics: aluminum, risk assessment
Reading time: 1 minute
