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BfR publishes EU Food Safety Almanac

German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) publishes 5th edition of almanac; includes all the institutions in each EU Member State and ten neighboring countries responsible for food and feed safety, including packaging; provides diagram of institutional relationships and explains responsibilities of each institution

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BfR recommends lowering EU limits on heavy metals

German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) publishes position statement on specific migration limits for lead, cadmium, and cobalt from ceramic food contact materials; derives recommended limits up to 400 times lower than values allowed by current directive

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EC study guides creation of sustainable-by-design criteria

European Commission (EC) releases study mapping current sustainability initiatives and research applicable to creating sustainable-by-design criteria; particular focus on materials and chemicals, including a section assessing nanomaterials; finds few policies related to the production phase of a material’s life cycle; next steps are to identify specific aspects of sustainability to be covered in the criteria and how to evaluate them

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Reducing perchlorate in food

Communication by German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment addresses perchlorate in food, calls for reduction of perchlorate levels in food, omits intentional use in FCMs as significant exposure source

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Migration from aluminum food containers

German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment finds high release of aluminum ions from uncoated aluminum meal trays into acidic food simulants, recommends using different materials for heated food storage