In an article published on February 5, 2020, non-governmental organization CHEM Trust informed that they have received a response from the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides, in response to a letter the organization sent her in December 2019. CHEM Trust’s letter was in regard to the current legislative system governing the safety of food contact materials (FCMs) in the EU. Specifically it highlighted concerns about the current legislation’s ability to address the migration of toxic chemicals into foods, lack of harmonization across material types, and a lack of safety provisions for non-threshold substances (FPF reported).
In her response, the EU Commissioner referenced the ongoing evaluation of the FCM legislation within Europe (FPF reported), saying that “whilst it is still too early to conclude on the results of the evaluation, it is clear that many stakeholders have concerns, particularly regarding the lack of specific rules in areas other than plastic FCMs and the need to ensure prioritization and coherence with other legislation as regards the regulation of substances migrating [from] FCMs at EU level.” She went on to write that she is “very keen to ensure that we take action where necessary in order the maximize the protection of human health . . . I consider the area of FCMs extremely important in this respect. Based on the available science, I will ensure we move ahead with prioritization of substances that we know are potentially more harmful to human health, including where relevant endocrine disrupters.” No further details were given as to when results from the Commission’s evaluation might be released.
CHEM Trust’s director, Michael Warhurst, commented that the organization “welcomes the recognition from the Commissioner that many stakeholders have concerns about the EU’s laws on chemicals in Food Contact Materials” and that they further “call on the Commission to set out an inclusive process with broad stakeholder participation for the coming policy discussion on this issue.”
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Sidsel Dyekjaer (February 5, 2020). “EU Health Commissioner confirms stakeholder concerns with food contact laws.” CHEM Trust
