Ten years ago on June 14, 2012, the Food Packaging Forum Foundation (FPF) was established in Zurich, Switzerland. Ever since, FPF has worked to bring evidence-based discussions on food contact materials and their impacts on health into the mainstream, and it is proud to be one of the very few independent issue owners at the intersection of food packaging, policy, and health.
Over the last decade, FPF has published over 35 peer-reviewed scientific articles, book chapters, fact sheets, and dossiers. In addition, it created five publicly-accessible databases including the Database on Migrating and Extractable Food Contact Chemicals (FCCmigex) and the Brand and Retailer Initiatives Database (BRID), ran nine workshops, and written more than 4600 news articles.
FPF has achieved a great deal since 2012, but we aren’t resting on our laurels. As we embark on our second decade, the discussions surrounding food packaging safety are more active than ever before. Our role is therefore as important as ever. Having helped identify the complexity and scale of risks associated with chemicals in food contact materials, including those linked to untested and unknown chemicals, further efforts are needed. This also means that we must broaden our attention to include new challenges.
As we move forward, it is clear that to achieve safe and sustainable food contact materials, what is considered “safe” and “sustainable” needs to be carefully reviewed. Besides, food packaging should be both of these things, not one or the other. As attitudes, awareness, and approaches change, it is important that we adapt and evolve, and our commitment to reviewing and communicating complex scientific information and raising awareness of key issues with the aim of safeguarding human health and the environment remains the same. The Food Packaging Forum is ready for the next decade.
Our work at the Food Packaging Forum, like the news you are reading now, is and will always remain freely accessible to all. But as a non-profit organization we are dependent on donations to make our work possible. If independent, science-based information on food contact materials is of value to you or your organization, then we kindly invite you to donate. We are a registered charitable foundation, and donations can be tax-deductible.
Thank you for supporting the Food Packaging Forum these last ten years! We wish you all the best and look forward to continuing to work with you for another ten!
