Topics
styrene
March 19, 2025
Scientists of the Food Packaging Forum (FPF) comment on public consultation on re-assessment of public health risks related to plastic food contact materials containing styrene; find the draft opinion’s scope is insufficient; raise concerns about reliance on industry-funded research and lack of transparency
Reading time: 2 minutes
March 2, 2023
Minutes available from recent meetings of the working groups on food contact materials (FCMs), bisphenol A (BPA), and recycling plastics, within the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes and Processing Aids (CEP Panel); no further meeting of the BPA working group planned; specific migration limit (SML) for styrene in FCMs upcoming
Reading time: 3 minutes
August 10, 2022
Scientists assess styrene levels in polystyrene food packaging, migration into refrigerated dairy products, in 50% ethanol, as well as factors influencing migration; report styrene migration of 5 to 30 µg/kg food at the best before date; find food contact area, temperature and time rather than fat content influence styrene migration
Reading time: 3 minutes
March 2, 2022
European Commission (EC) opens consultation period on the use of styrene as a food contact material; considering developing migration limit for styrene into food; stakeholder survey open until April 11, 2022
Reading time: 1 minute
February 16, 2022
Systematic literature review identifies eight studies analyzing styrene levels in food; reports average level of 91.53 µg styrene/kg food; highlights knowledge gaps on other foodstuff besides dairy products
Reading time: 1 minute
March 25, 2021
US state governor passes legislation banning polystyrene foam food packaging partially by 2023 and fully by 2025; sets penalty of $50 a day, civil organizations to be exempted; signed executive order regulating phase-out of non-reusable plastics from public institutions by July 21, 2021
Reading time: 1 minute
October 15, 2020
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) panel publishes assessment of styrene in plastic food contact materials, follows 2018 International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) conclusion labelling it as ‘probably carcinogenic’; calls for systematic review of genotoxicity, toxicokinetics, species differences to determine safety
Topics: styrene
Reading time: 1 minute
May 11, 2018
International Agency for Research on Cancer concludes that styrene and styrene-6,8-oxide are ‘probably carcinogenic to humans’
Reading time: 1 minute
May 17, 2017
State of California adopts No Significant Risk Level for styrene of 27 µg/day under Proposition 65; styrene exposure from polystyrene food packaging assumed to be low, likely requiring no warning label
Topics: regulation, styrene
Reading time: 1 minute
May 16, 2017
Expanded polystyrene food packaging to be banned in the City of New York effective November 13, 2017; foam recycling found not “economically feasible” or “environmentally effective”
Reading time: 1 minute
