The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Panel on Food Contact materials, Enzymes and Processing Aids (CEP Panel) published the minutes of its 12th plenary meeting that took place on February 4-6, 2020. The panel discussed the draft opinions regarding the following substance safety assessments on their use in the manufacture of food contact materials: di(m-2,2′,2”-nitrilotris(ethanol)-diperchlorato)dinatrium (EFSA-Q-2017-00444), reaction product of stearyl-diethanol-amine with C18 saturated fatty acids(EFSA-Q-2016-00510), and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate phosphate (EFSA-Q-2019-00390). All three assessments were adopted subject to incorporation of changes suggested during the meeting. The panel also adopted the following draft opinions on the safety assessment of the recycling processes: Ltd. PolyER recyclingprocess (Starlinger viscotec deCON) (EFSA-Q-2019-00372), RE-PET Kunststoffrecycling recycling process (EREMA basic) (EFSA-Q-2019-00386), STF Recycling recycling process (EREMA basic) (EFSA-Q-2019-00384), and the Buergofol recycling process (EREMA basic) (EFSA-Q-2019-00495).
The EFSA CEP panel published the minutes of the 21st and 22nd meetings of its Working Group on bisphenol A (WG-BPA) re-evaluation held in 2020 on January 10 and 21, respectively. During the meetings, the experts discussed relevant clusters of identified epidemiological studies as well as their endpoints and the approach for weighting the evidence from both human and animal studies. Cardiotoxicity was analyzed as an example. The next meeting was scheduled to be held on February 27-28, 2020 in Parma, Italy.
The EFSA CEP Panel also published the minutes of the 11th meeting of its Working Group on Food Contact Materials (WG-FCM), which was held on January 14-16, 2020. During the meeting, the group continued discussing the ongoing activity related to the prioritization of substances without a specific migration limit (SML) on the FCM Union List (EFSA-Q-2019-00150). The group was presented with “the on-going activities on the collection of chemical/toxicological information, the in-silico predictions results and a preliminary draft opinion.” The strategy for prioritizing the substances was discussed and slightly modified. The group also discussed the dossiers for di(m-2,2′,2”-nitrilotris(ethanol)-diperchlorato)dinatrium (TEAP) (EFSA-Q-2017-00444) and for the reaction product of stearyl-diethanol-amine with C18 saturated fatty acids (additive) (EFSA-Q-2016-00510) following receipt of information from the applicants. In February, both draft opinions were discussed and adopted by the CEP Panel during its 12th meeting, see above.
For the following substances, the WG-FCM has suspended the scientific evaluation until more information from the applicants are received: (i) nano precipitated calcium carbonate (EFSA-Q-2019-00232), (ii) fatty acid-coated nano precipitated calcium carbonate (EFSA-Q-2019-00233), and (iii) silver as nano material (EFSA-Q-2018-00640). The group is also continuing the evaluation of styrene for its safety for use in food contact materials (EFSA-Q-2019-00686). The next WG-FCM meeting will take place on February 25-27, 2020 in Parma, Italy.
The EFSA CEP Panel further published the minutes of the 11th meeting of its Working Group on Recycling Plastics (WG-RP), which was held on January 13-14, 2020. During the meeting, the group discussed the draft opinions of three recycling processes: Veolia (URRC) (EFSA-Q-2018-00768), Buergofol (EREMA Basic) (EFSA-Q-2019-00495), and STF (EREMA Basic) (EFSA-Q-2019-00384). The two latter processes have since been adopted by the CEP Panel at its 12th meeting, see above. The WG-RP further discussed with a DG SANTE representative on the developments of recycling technologies and regulatory provisions, reviewed lessons learned and the foreseen workload for 2020, and was informed about new mandates on recycling processes received by EFSA.
Read more
EFSA CEP Panel (February 28, 2020). “Minutes of the 12th plenary meeting.” (pdf)
EFSA CEP Panel (February 16, 2020). “Minutes of the 21st and 22nd meetings of the working group on BPA re-evaluation.” (pdf)
EFSA CEP Panel (February 5, 2020). “Minutes of the 11th meeting of the working group on food contact materials 2018-2021.” (pdf)
EFSA CEP Panel (February 3, 2020). “Minutes of the 11th meeting of the working group on recycling plastics 2018-2021.” (pdf)
