EFSA: Dietary exposure to BPA is unsafe

European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) publishes scientific opinion on bisphenol A (BPA); tolerable daily intake reduced by a factor of 20 000; concludes that there is a health concern from current dietary BPA exposure levels for entire population

Report outlines how plastic production harms human health, environment, economy

Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health publishes extensive report summarizing plastics’ effects across life cycle on human health, environment, and the economy; health effects cost society hundreds of billions every year; report includes actions for “governments and industries to minimize the negative consequences of global plastic contamination”

EU Court of Justice rules in favor of ECHA identifying BPA as SVHC

Trade body PlasticsEurope loses fourth legal case concerning regulations of bisphenol A (BPA); European Court of Justice supports ECHA’s classification of BPA as substance of high very high concern (SVHC)

EFSA CEP Panel updates from October 2022 to February 2023

Minutes available from recent meetings of the working groups on food contact materials (FCMs), bisphenol A (BPA), and recycling plastics, within the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes and Processing Aids (CEP Panel); no further meeting of the BPA working group planned; specific migration limit (SML) for styrene in FCMs upcoming

Germany submits bisphenol restriction proposal to ECHA

Germany proposes restricting bisphenol A (BPA), other bisphenols, and derivatives as additives in articles to 0.02% by weight; also to introduce release rates to prevent migration into environment or organisms; proposal now under review by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) Committee for Risk Assessment

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

Arguments by PlasticsEurope in BPA case “unfounded,” says Advocate General

EU Advocate General advises the General Court to reject the primary argument of PlasticsEurope in its case against the European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) identification of bisphenol A (BPA) as a substance of very high concern (SVHC); Advocate General calls the argument “in its entirety as unfounded”; this appeal is based on the classification as an environmental endocrine disruptor

New trademarked certification for reusable plastics

New certification scheme by AIMPLAS tests chemical safety of reusable plastic food packaging prior to consumer use, including non-intentionally added substances (NIAS); tests physical characteristics after five dishwasher cycles

VKM identifies most critical food contaminants to monitor in Norway

Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment (VKM) provides guidance for risk-based monitoring of chemicals in foods previously identified as a potential concern; includes chemicals from food packaging and processing equipment

US FDA to review safety of BPA in food contact

US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) agrees to review the safety of bisphenol A (BPA) for use in food packaging; agency is responding to a petition filed by US civil society organizations after the European Food Safety Authority lowered official tolerable daily intake level of BPA by 100,000-fold