On December 6, 2022, The European Consumer Organization (BEUC), an umbrella organization of European civil society groups, published findings by ten BEUC members demonstrating that known harmful chemicals migrate from silicone baking molds sold in Europe. Each silicone product underwent three migration tests, following procedures used for plastics food contact materials (FCMs). Migrants measured include three siloxanes that are classified as substances of very high concern (SVHCs). In total, 23% of the 44 sampled products were found to release chemical(s) in high concentrations (>30 mg/kg) or increasing amounts over time. The latter suggests that the products are not suitable for repeated use. In addition, 82% of the samples were found to contain substances of concern “such as suspected endocrine disruptors, or substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic,” albeit at low levels.
According to BEUC, “ the analysis combined migration tests using food simulants with identification and quantification of individual substances released from the samples. In line with the requirements for plastic materials intended for repeated use, migration tests were carried out three times on a single sample using another portion of food simulant on each occasion.”
Several products BEUC tested also lacked adequate use instructions. Instructions were often displayed only through obscure pictograms. Further, “most samples bought on online marketplaces did not include the manufacturer’s contact details – thus making it impossible for consumers, and enforcement authorities, to contact the responsible company in case of a complaint. These findings therefore strongly indicate the need for control authorities to focus more on such insufficient, ambiguous, or missing labeling.”
The EU regulation on FCMs ((EC) No 1935/2004) requires that “any material or article intended to come into contact directly or indirectly with food must be sufficiently inert to preclude substances from being transferred to food in quantities large enough to endanger human health.” However, for silicones there are no detailed rules to determine compliance with this requirement, unlike plastic materials. This lack of EU rules may be detrimental to public health and consumer trust, as noted by the European Parliament in 2016 (FPF reported, also here).
Only five Member States have their own national rules for silicone FCMs, and “none of the national rules addresses specific contaminants released.” The European Commission has committed to revising EU food packaging legislation, with preparatory work on a legislative proposal currently underway (FPF reported, also here).
BEUC recommends that:
- stricter EU rules for silicones and all non-plastic FCM s are developed without delay.
- regulatory focus shifts towards the actual chemical mixtures that migrate from finished materials and products.
- FCM labels are improved through coherent rules in relation to e.g. presentation, durability, and legibility of pictograms.
- new tools to control online sales are introduced.
“Consumers buy more and more products online, including through online marketplaces or web shops based outside of the EU. This trend presents new safety risks for consumers, as illustrated by this test: while not illegal, many of the products purchased through online marketplaces such as AliExpress or Amazon were among the worst performers in the test.”
In September 2022, the Danish Environmental Protection Agency found that only 22 of 304 Danish online shops screened met EU legal requirements to “ensure that consumers are informed about the dangers of chemical products when shopping online.” The Nordic Council found over 50% of products ordered online in 2020 were non-compliant with EU chemicals legislation (FPF reported).
This article was written with assistance from GPT-3, OpenAI’s large-scale language-generation model.
References
BEUC (December 6, 2022). “Half baked: EU food packaging laws need a rethink to keep consumers safe.” (pdf)
Miljøstyrelsen (September 28, 2022). “Nine out of ten online shops break the law on hazard labeling.”
