13th annual European Bioplastics conference discusses impacts of plastics pollution, elements of EU circular economy package, food contact regulations, bioplastics market development, life cycle assessment, new building blocks
EU Court of Justice: no DEHP in recycled PVC
EU Court of Justice’s General Advocate recommends ban on bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) in recycled polyvinyl chloride (PVC); previous decision considered inadequate as it disregards endocrine disrupting properties of DEHP; NGO criticizes REACH lacking necessary tools to manage recycled materials
Newsweek article reports on opposing viewpoints on BPA
Representatives from academia, government and industry express their opinions on BPA, battle over BPA safety continues
BPA health costs at $3 billion annually
New study concludes on thousands of preventable cases of childhood obesity and heart disease caused by BPA; economic savings estimated to outweigh costs of replacing BPA
PFAS under mounting scrutiny in Europe, US
European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) publishes long-awaited PFAS restriction proposal; includes blanket ban of all PFAS in Europe with two restriction timelines – all at once or in phases by use case; concludes PFAS in nearly all food contact and packaging applications have ‘high substitution potential’; NGO ChemSec adds 370 PFAS to SIN List; at least 28 US states expected to consider PFAS-related policy this year
Guiding the transition away from bisphenols
AkzoNobel Packaging Coatings publishes white paper outlining history of bisphenol use in can coatings, available alternatives, case studies from regions and industries that have switched away from bisphenols, and vision for the transition in Europe
Enzymatic recycling of PET
CARBIOS announces development of PET bottle made from ‘100% purified terephthalic acid’ obtained by ‘enzymatic biorecycling’ of mixed PET plastic waste, though challenges still remain to produce recycled resin fully comparable to virgin PET
Secret information on toxic substances revealed
Columbia University and City University of New York establish online database containing formerly secret documents about toxic substances such as lead and PCBs
GRAS determination for food additives under review
Washington Post questions whether the rising number of food additives is a consequence of waning FDA scrutiny
Conference on food contact materials
Luxembourg’s Ministry of Health organises food contact materials conference as part of its Presidency of the Council of the European Union; registration now open