Marco Zhong from China’s National Reference Laboratory for Food Contact Materials presents the ongoing reform of Chinese legislation for FCMs, discusses challenges for regulation, enforcement, and compliance
TSCA reform signed into law
U.S. President Obama enacts bill reforming Toxic Substances Control Act; news providers and health group explain implications of updated U.S. chemicals regulation
FPF Workshop 2019: Doubt is their product
David Michaels explains how ‘manufactured scientific uncertainty’ is used to delay regulatory actions on harmful products
FPF Workshop 2016: Substitution and elimination of chemicals of concern
Experts from industry and academia explain fundamental concepts and legal background of chemical substitutions; discuss practical challenges in replacing chemicals of concern in food packaging materials
U.S. plastic bottle recycling again decreases
According to annual report by the Association of Plastic Recyclers and the American Chemistry Council, PET and HDPE bottle recycling on decline, while PP bottle recycling increased by 15% in 2016
Food contact chemicals among 921 substances tied to breast cancer risk
Researchers expand list of known substances with characteristics linked to breast cancer by more than four-fold; many are in standard consumer products, including 189 in food contact according to FPF’s database on migrating and extractable food contact chemicals (FCCmigex); authors call for improved hazard identification methods, advocate for more comprehensive chemical testing, especially focusing on the mammary gland and broader range of chemicals
FPF Workshop 2019: FPF year in review
Thomas Backhaus reviews the Food Packaging Forum’s work in 2019; includes organization and participation in conferences and webinars, scientific projects finalized and launched
Human exposure to marine plastic pollution
New in-depth article discusses human exposure to and potential health effects of plastics in marine food chain
FPF Workshop 2019: Perspectives on innovations
Innovations improving the safety of food contact articles discussed during afternoon session; panel with guests from academia, non-profit organizations, start-ups and industry
FPF Workshop 2017: Science is not value-free
Karim Bschir from ETH Zurich argues that ‘good science is not value-free’ because scientists routinely make value-based judgments; he proposes that scientists should make their values explicit