Thailand publishes draft regulation for chemicals in paper food contact materials (FCMs), affects non-colored paper and board containers; limits concentrations of heavy metals, phthalates, bisphenol A and benzophenone; draft open for consultation until May 11, 2021
PEF industry project funded by EU
EU-industry partnership grants funding to industry consortium working on the advancement and commercial availability of PEF, a bio-based alternative packaging material to PET
BPA and analogues: Multiple targets and effects
Scientists highlight BPA’s interactions with multiple molecular targets besides estrogen receptor; growing body of evidence demonstrates similar pleiotropic actions of BPA substitutes such as BPS, BPF, BPAF and others
Studies review human exposures and effects of micro- and nanoplastics
Three studies investigate micro- and nanoplastics – source, organ deposition, and reproductive effects; detect up to 240,000 plastic particles/L in bottled water with 90% being nanoplastics; find microplastics in human lung, intestine, and kidney tissues; polyethylene particles found to affect placental function in mice
Food Contact training: ‘An Introduction to Food Contact Regulations’
EU plans BPA update
European Commission plans to lower specific migration limit (SML) for BPA from food contact plastics; new SML shall also apply to varnishes and coatings used in FCMs
2024 food contact chemical and material policy outlook
Public and political concerns related to chemical exposures, human health, and environmental pollution continue to grow; brief overview of some of the EU, US, and UN policies and projects that FPF is tracking in 2024
Proceedings of EFSA conference 2018
Proceedings of European Food Safety Authority’s 3rd scientific conference held in September 2018 now published
EFSA working group updates in October 2019
Minutes from recent meetings of the EFSA working groups on BPS, BPA, FCMs, and recycling plastic available
Plastic recycling: company commitments and chemical safety challenges
Scientists report most large companies commit to reducing plastic pollution but focus on recycling; extrusion of recycled materials and legacy compounds in recycled materials as safety challenge; some substances increase others decrease with the increase in recycled content in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles; tentatively identify 212 volatile chemicals in 57 different recycled PET flakes available in China; present migration model to characterize the exposure and risk of PET oligomers