On June 25, 2018, the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavourings and Processing Aids (CEF Panel) published the minutes of the fourth meeting of its Working Group (WG) on Phthalates which was held on June 4, 2018 in Parma, Italy.
During the meeting, the WG discussed issues regarding occurrence data of phthalates with EFSA’s DATA Unit, as well as different approaches to assess dietary exposure to phthalates. Further, the WG reviewed the expert feedback it received concerning the screening of literature and appraisal of studies for producing an updated opinion on the safety of dibutyl phthalate (DBP, CAS 84-74-2), benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP, CAS 85-68-7), and bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP, CAS 117-81-7) for use in food contact plastics.
EFSA informed the WG that the European Commission (EC) has updated the mandate regarding the assessment of DBP, BBP, and DEHP for food contact plastics (FPF reported). The EC asks EFSA to also assess the safety of diisononyl phthalate (DINP, CAS 28553-12-0) and diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP, CAS 26761-40-0) which are authorized for use in plastic food contact materials (FCMs). “EFSA should consider exposure and toxicity data on these respective substances, focusing on reproductive effects as these were the basis on which ECHA established a Derived No Effect Level (DNEL) for DEHP, DBP and BBP,” the minutes read.
Lastly, EFSA pointed out to the WG the public consultation on the amendment of the Authorization List entries for DBP, BBP, bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP, CAS 117-81-7), diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP, CAS 84-69-5) which is currently hosted by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) (FPF reported). The foreseen amendment aims to include the substances’ additional identification as substances of very high concern (SVHCs) due to their endocrine disrupting properties (FPF reported).
Read more
CEF (June 25, 2018). “Minutes of the 4th meeting of the Working Group on Phthalates.” (pdf)
