On the morning of the Food Packaging Forum’s 11th annual workshop, speakers share processes to measure sustainable food packaging while accounting for multiple concerns; three speakers share findings from developing frameworks to make packaging safer, account for tradeoffs, and reduce plastic packaging use; three speakers share how policy is developed at the United Nations and European Union
More evidence on hazard potential of BPA and BPS
Endocrine Society highlights 3 scientific studies investigating effects of bisphenol A and its common substitute bisphenol S on body weight, liver development, and breast cancer
Nanoparticles may affect gut function
New study finds zinc nanoparticles used in food can coatings to negatively affect intestinal functions such as nutrient absorption, iron and glucose transport; UPDATE: original article retracted due to calculation mistake; corrected article published in December 2018
Plastic particles in seabirds
New study predicts wide-reaching global impact of marine plastic debris on seabirds
Computational method outperforms animal tests
Predictions of acute health hazards by ‘data fusion’ read-across structure activity relationship (RASAR) modeling reported to be more reproducible than animal testing data
UNEP and EU updates on marine plastic pollution
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) completes survey of South-East Asian consumers and businesses, finds ‘significant disconnect’ between expectations and actions taken to address plastic waste; European Commission (EC) and European Environment Agency (EEA) publish status reports on marine protection efforts in the EU, show mixed results with increase in plastics contamination
How to increase the recyclability of paper packaging
Confederation of Paper Industries, publishes guide for packaging designers to increase recyclability of paper products; to improve recycling quality, suggests limiting laminates, coatings, inks, varnishes, and adhesives to no more than 10% of pack weight, aspirational goal of 5%; standard paper mills cannot process much laminate, e.g. coffee cups, cold cups, beverage cartons
Replacing hazardous chemicals with similarly toxic alternatives
New report by NGO CHEM Trust highlights necessity to regulate groups of similar chemicals to avoid regrettable substitutions, illustrates replacement of BPA with BPS and other analogues as example
FPF Workshop 2018: Assessing the safety of food packaging
Experts identify challenges for risk assessment and management of food contact chemicals, present toxicity tests and analytical tools for safer food packaging
Microplastics in human stool
Scientists detect microplastics in every human stool sample collected in eight countries, call for further research to better understand influence on gastrointestinal health