On February 9, 2017 the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavourings and Processing Aids (CEF Panel) published the latest update of the meeting minutes of its Working Group on Food Contact Materials (WG-FCM). The 20th meeting of the WG-FCM was held on January 18-19, 2017 in Parma, Italy.
During the meeting, the WG-FCM discussed the draft opinion on the substance Genox® EP (CAS 204933-93-7) for inclusion in Annex I of Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 as an additive for use in plastic FCMs. EFSA received the mandate for evaluating Genox® EP in July 2014 and had requested additional data three times since then. The WG-FCM noted that EFSA has requested the applicant to provide additional data once more in order to complete the risk assessment. The evaluation of Genox® EP is suspended until the requested data are submitted.
Further, the WG-FCM was informed about EFSA’s new chemical hazards database “OpenFoodTox” that was launched in January 2017 (FPF reported).
Bastiaan Schupp from the European Commission’s (EC) Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) asked for “clarifications on the safety assessment of a FCM substance for which EFSA has recently published a favorable opinion.” These clarifications shall enable the EC “to take the appropriate risk management measures for authorizing the substance.” The substance’s identity is not provided in the minutes.
Regarding the implementation of EFSA’s uncertainty guidance in the field of FCMs, the WG-FCM is currently conducting a training exercise to identify uncertainties and ways to address them in an FCM opinion. The WG-FCM continued the discussion of the training exercise, with particular focus on uncertainties linked to toxicity data of an FCM opinion.
Lastly, the WG-FCM was informed that EFSA will publish revised versions of the administrative guidance document on plastic FCMs and the note for guidance for FCM substances – foreseeably before the end of February 2017.
The next meeting of the WG-FCM is scheduled to take place on March 7-9, 2017.
Read more
CEF (February 9, 2017). “Minutes of the 20th meeting of the Working Group on Food Contact Materials 2014-2017.” (pdf)
