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

CEP Panel: 2nd plenary meeting

EFSA’s CEP Panel held 2nd plenary meeting on September 26-27, 2018; new food contact substances, PET recycling processes, evaluation of FCM legislation, updated risk assessment for phthalates discussed

Declaration on nanomaterial regulation

Five European countries issue ‘Berlin Declaration’ calling to address gaps in nanomaterial regulation

Opinion: Loopholes in proposed EU laws for single-use plastics

Rethink Plastic alliance of NGOs warns that definition of single-use items is ‘too narrow,’ allowing to avoid bans or reduction measures by marketing them as reusable; NGOs deliver petition to EU Parliament ahead of vote on single-use plastics regulation on October 22, 2018

ENVI adopts EU bans on single-use plastics

EU Parliament’s Environment and Public Health Committee adopts draft EU directive on polluting single-use plastics and marine litter; European Parliament (EP) publishes key facts about plastic in the oceans, informs about the impact of litter and actions for reduction

FPF Workshop 2018: Perspectives on the FCM safety

Afternoon session of FPF Workshop 2018 discusses different approaches to ensuring FCM safety taken by industry, government, retailers, consumer organizations

FPF Workshop 2018: Assessing the safety of food packaging

Experts identify challenges for risk assessment and management of food contact chemicals, present toxicity tests and analytical tools for safer food packaging

New Chinese standards for inks and adhesives coming soon

China National Centre for Food Safety Risk Assessment drafts new standards for food contact adhesives and printing inks, revises other existing standards

Vietnam tightens enforcement for FCMs

Vietnamese decree specifies fines and other actions to penalize production or import of unsafe food packaging

Draft regulation for plastic FCMs in Latin America

Argentina notifies World Trade Organization of proposed revisions to Mercosur regulation on plastics and polymeric coatings for food contact; comments accepted until November 4, 2018