The Food Packaging Forum’s second annual workshop was dedicated to hazardous chemicals in food contact materials (FCMs). A recent study by the Food Packaging Forum revealed that known chemicals of concern are knowingly and intentionally used in the manufacture of FCMs. During the workshop, participants learned from internationally renowned scientific experts how hazardous chemicals are managed in FCMs, how their risk is assessed, how chemical analytical work helps to ensure the safety of food packaging, and what emerging issues are related to the risk of chemicals in FCMs. They also heard from government officials and experts from the European Union and the US about the regulatory framework for food contact materials in these countries. Specialists from the food industry and from retail shared how food packaging safety, related to hazardous chemicals, is managed. Finally, different approaches for identifying chemical hazards in food contact materials were shown. Please find the full slides and recordings of the presentations given at the workshop below.
Talks
Welcome and Introduction
Prof. Martin Scheringer
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and Food Packaging Forum Foundation Board, Switzerland
Chemical risk assessment: a tightrope walk between science, policy and stakeholder demands
Prof. Thomas Backhaus
University of Gothenburg, Sweden and Food Packaging Forum Foundation Board, Switzerland
Chemicals of concern in food contact materials – an analysis by the FPF
Dr. Birgit Geueke
Food Packaging Forum, Switzerland
Establishing the level of safety concern for chemicals in food without the need for toxicity testing
Dr. Benoît Schilter
Nestlé, Switzerland
Is BPA a weak estrogen?
Prof. Angel Nadal
Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche, Spain and Food Packaging Forum Foundation Board, Switzerland
Bisphenol A: Mistakes and opportunities
Dr. Pete Myers
Environmental Health Sciences, United States
Ensuring safety and compliance of food contact materials
Dr. Konrad Grob
Official Food Control Authority of the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland
Chemical food safety in the US – an analysis of FDA’s scientific basis for assessing chemical risk
Tom Neltner
Independent Consultant, United States
FACET: Its use in the risk assessment of non-intentionally added substances
Dr. Peter Oldring
Valspar Corporation AG, United Kingdom
Safety of food packaging from a retailer’s perspective
Paul Earnshaw
TESCO, United Kingdom