Four recent studies assess microplastics: in human semen, heart, from baby food containers, and suitability of in vitro models to investigate human health effects; find microplastics in six out of ten semen samples, find impacts on semen quality; samples from cardiac surgery patients contain microplastics in heart and surrounding tissue; billions of nano- and microplastics released from plastic baby food containers; outline challenges and recommendation of studying plastic particles in vitro
FPF submits feedback on packaging and packaging waste regulation
Food Packaging Forum (FPF) responds to European Commission’s call for feedback on the proposed packaging and packaging waste regulation (PPWR); FPF highlights aspects of food packaging and chemical safety that should be included in future versions; primarily (i) considering presence of hazardous chemicals in packaging materials meant to be recycled or reused, (ii) clearly defining compostable packaging and guaranteeing safety, and (iii) defining inertness
Health effects of perchlorate exposure
Review of perchlorate’s human health effects finds ‘mixed results’ regarding neurodevelopment; Austrian assessment of dietary perchlorate exposure finds exceedance of tolerable daily intake levels for high consumption; recent studies address effects in newborns, other effects
Roadmap for EU FCM policy revision
EU Commission’s DG SANTE publishes Inception Impact Assessment as roadmap for revision of EU regulations on food contact materials; outlines eight main “issues” identified during ongoing evaluation, possible policy options to be considered by planned Impact Assessment; commenting period open until January 29, 2021
Brominated flame retardants detected in Korean FCMs
Varying levels of the four major brominated flame retardants found in polystyrene food contact materials
EUBP panel: Biodegradable plastic’s contribution for climate-neutral economy
15th European Bioplastics (EUBP) conference panel discusses role of biodegradable plastics in achieving climate neutral circular economy, argues application should be limited to waste collection applications; notes many composters still reject plastics, communication and clarification needed
UNEP: Over 3000 chemicals of concern in plastics
Technical report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) informs about “chemical-related issues of plastic pollution and options to address them”; finds 13,000 chemicals present in plastic; 7,000 have hazard data of which 3,200 are chemicals of concern; outlines chemical groups, use sectors of concern, human and ecosystem exposure, gaps and improvement options including substitution and waste management in a circular economy
WWF: marine plastic pollution irreversible, strategies needed beyond recycling
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) publishes principles for chemical recycling to avoid harming human health or goals for circular economy; should not compete with mechanical recycling, need transparency about resource consumption; prioritize reduction, reuse over recycling; WWF and Alfred Wegener Institute report on plastics’ impacts on oceans; plastic contamination is permanent; at least 2144 species affected, 99.8% of seabird species will eat plastics by 2050
2023 FPF Workshop: Assessing and implementing safe and sustainable FCMs
In the afternoon of the Food Packaging Forum’s 11th annual workshop, speakers shared businesses experiences on the path towards more safe and sustainable food packaging; five talks and one panel discussion present opportunities, challenges, and case studies; representatives from several large international businesses shared approaches their organizations use to respond to safety and sustainability challenges; reusable packaging founders discuss the unique issues of changing the food packaging field
Plastic packaging: A risk to food companies?
New report of NGO ClientEarth explores risks of single-use plastic packaging; warns investors that food companies and supermarkets neglecting plastic pollution-related risk to face reputational damage and legal action