The European Chemical Agency’s (ECHA) Member State Committee (MSC) unanimously agreed to place six substances of which three are authorized for food contact materials (FCMs) on the Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs). In a press release published June 20, 2013 ECHA declares that some substances were identified on the basis of more than one SVHC properties. The six substances newly added to the SVHC list are cadmium, cadmium oxide, ammonium pentadecafluorooctanoate (APFO), perfluorinated octanoic acid (PFOA), dipentyl phthalate (DPP) and ethoxylated 4-nonylphenol.
Cadmium is naturally found in ceramics and cannot be fully removed. Its migration is regulated in Europe under EEC 1984/500 and varies from 0.07 mg/dm2 to 0.3 mg /dm2 food contact surface depending on the article’s size and use. 4-Nonylphenol, a degradation product of 4-nonylphenol ethoxylate, is authorized as an indirect additive under U.S. law; PFOA is authorized for the use in plastic FCM for repeated use in Europe. Cadmium is a human carcinogen with sufficient evidence (IARC) and 4-nonylphenol an endocrine disruptor. PFOA has been shown to be toxic for reproduction, persistent and bioaccumulative.
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