EU Commission’s DG SANTE publishes Inception Impact Assessment as roadmap for revision of EU regulations on food contact materials; outlines eight main “issues” identified during ongoing evaluation, possible policy options to be considered by planned Impact Assessment; commenting period open until January 29, 2021
2022 FPF Workshop: FCM developments in the last decade
On the morning of the Food Packaging Forum’s annual workshop, speakers discuss changes in food contact material (FCM) regulation in the EU, US, and Asia; panels discuss key research and policy developments over the last decade
Global Food Contact Conference 2022: updates from the Americas
Smithers conference covers global developments in food contact regulations and materials; speakers on day one review recent and upcoming changes to food packaging regulations in the US, Canada, and the South American trade bloc Mercosur
Wrestling with the externalities of the plastics supply chain
As the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee of the UN Global Treaty to End Plastic Pollution approaches, publications highlight the diverse effects the plastics supply chain has on human health and the environment, particularly the burden on vulnerable communities
2023 FPF Workshop: Goals and policy processes for safe and sustainable FCMs
On the morning of the Food Packaging Forum’s 11th annual workshop, speakers share processes to measure sustainable food packaging while accounting for multiple concerns; three speakers share findings from developing frameworks to make packaging safer, account for tradeoffs, and reduce plastic packaging use; three speakers share how policy is developed at the United Nations and European Union
2021 FPF Workshop: Sharing recent scientific research
On the first day of the Food Packaging Forum’s annual workshop, speakers discuss their latest scientific research projects covering food contact chemical migration, human biomonitoring, mixture effects, threshold levels, microplastics, and impacts on reproduction
Plastics policy in the UK needs clarity and reform
Greenpeace and Everyday Plastic publish results from voluntary plastic waste audit of nearly 100,000 UK homes; finds UK households throw away nearly 100 billion pieces of plastic a year, 83% of which is from food and drinks; waste organizations within the country ask for stronger policies and more clarity on existing goals
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
EU notifies C9-C14 PFCA restriction to WTO
European Union notifies World Trade Organization of proposed amendment to REACH Restriction List (Annex XVII) to restrict manufacturing, use, placing on the market and import of C9-C14 perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs), their salts and related substances within the EU; long-chain PFCAs can be present in food contact materials as impurities but also degradation products of long-chain fluorotelomers
2022 FPF Workshop: From ideas to action
In the afternoon of the Food Packaging Forum’s annual workshop, speakers discuss changing narratives to make information actionable, share behind-the-scenes of a reuse system running for over 80 years; panels discuss visions, obstacles for a sustainable food system