Coffee company and coffeehouse chain Starbucks announces trialing of recyclable, compostable cups in several U.S. cities; NGO highlights need for change in consumer behavior, advocates for more reusable cups
PFOA and PFOS hazardous to human immune system
U.S. National Toxicology Program publishes systematic review on exposure to PFOA and PFOS and immunotoxicity, concludes that both substances are presumed immune hazards to humans
FPF Workshop 2019: Non-monotonicity explained
Ana Soto presents biological mechanisms underlying non-monotonic dose-responses, explains why non-monotonicity is ‘useful to organisms, challenging for regulators,’ discusses CLARITY-BPA’s successes and limitations
IARC: Styrene ‘probably carcinogenic’
International Agency for Research on Cancer concludes that styrene and styrene-6,8-oxide are ‘probably carcinogenic to humans’
Chemical Hazard Data Commons
U.S. NGO Healthy Building Network launches free online resource Chemical Hazard Data Commons aggregating hazard determinations for over 85 000 substances, aimed to facilitate substitution of hazardous chemicals
Microplastics as freshwater contaminants
New study reviews microplastic as emerging contaminant of freshwaters
FPF comments on EU BPA restriction
Food Packaging Forum (FPF) submits comments to the European Commission on the restriction of bisphenol A in food contact materials; supports the proposed regulation; advocates for shorter transition periods, broader coverage, and development of more advanced detection methods
Food packaging in the circular economy: Overview of chemical safety aspects for commonly used materials
ToMEx – An open access tool to explore microplastic toxicity
Microplastic experts publish Toxicity of Microplastics Explorer (ToMEx), a living database to quickly upload, assess, analyze, and visualize, microplastic toxicity data; aims to inform microplastic research and regulatory decisions on plastic pollution
EU Parliament interested in FCMs
Seminar held at European Parliament outlines regulation, challenges for FCMs; different stakeholders highlight need for updating existing regulation, requirement for new legislation