German TV station airs report on unpublished EFSA document; toxicological consequences of mineral oil exposure allegedly exceed previous assumptions; expert recommends “drastic reduction” of exposure
Plastic recycling: company commitments and chemical safety challenges
Scientists report most large companies commit to reducing plastic pollution but focus on recycling; extrusion of recycled materials and legacy compounds in recycled materials as safety challenge; some substances increase others decrease with the increase in recycled content in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles; tentatively identify 212 volatile chemicals in 57 different recycled PET flakes available in China; present migration model to characterize the exposure and risk of PET oligomers
EU Commission’s Working Group on FCMs
EU Working Group on FCMs discusses BPA, amendments to EU 10/2011, mineral oil migration, authorization of recycling processes, migration testing guidelines
EFSA working group updates: September 2019
Minutes from recent meetings of the EFSA working groups on BPS, BPA, FCMs, phthalates, and recycling plastic available
EFSA: Activity 2015 and outlook for 2016-2019
EFSA publishes Annual Activity Report 2015 and a revised version of Programming document with strategic outlook for 2016-2019
EFSA EREN: Identifying emerging risks
Overview article describes outcomes of EFSA’s emerging risks exchange network (EREN) from 2010-2014, strategy for dealing with emerging risks in food safety
Survival of coronavirus on surfaces
Live virus particles found on frozen food packaging in China; updated questions and answers series on coronavirus published by the German Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung (BfR)
Migration of styrene oligomers into food
German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment evaluates migration of styrene oligomers from FCMs into food simulants; finds no evidence for health risks at currently measured migration levels
Toxic chemicals in articles made from recycled plastics
Article in The Guardian discusses contamination of children’s toys made from recycled materials with hazardous flame retardants; environmental organizations call for government action
Enameled grill racks release metals
German risk assessment institute evaluates migration of 10 metals from grill racks and trays; some products released considerable quantities of aluminum, antimony, arsenic, nickel