The European Commission’s (EC) Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) is currently conducting a survey on the use of phthalates in food contact materials (FCMs). The primary aim of the survey is “to gain a better oversight of the current use of phthalates in FCMs, or other non-phthalate substances that provide the same function in the material.”

The survey targets “business operators (including importers) and their European or national representatives) who manufacture or use . . . FCMs that employ the use of one or more phthalate esters . . . or alternatives with the same function, alone or in combination.” The types of FCMs targeted by the survey include “plastic FCMs” and “non-plastic FCMs including coatings, silicones, rubbers, adhesives and printing inks,” as well as “combinations of the above i.e. multi-material multi-layer FCMs.” It is further specified that “this questionnaire is primarily aimed at the users of phthalates, businesses and representatives of the producers (e.g. chemicals sector),” but “final FCM users (importers, packers, distributors, retailers) are also invited to participate” and “control or compliance laboratories are also invited to submit data where relevant.”

DG SANTE informs that “the information given in this questionnaire will not be published nor used for the purpose of official controls. It will be aggregated and used to better understand the application and occurrence of phthalates in FCMs.”

The survey closes on November 8, 2019.

Read more

EC (2019). “DG SANTE survey on the use of phthalates (esters of phthalic acid) in food contact materials (FCM).

Chemical Watch (October 22, 2019). “EU Commission seeks views on phthalates in FCMs.

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