Study performs migration testing on 79 plastic baby food pouches; finds four bisphenols, five phthalic acid diesters in targeted analysis and 26 more in suspect screening including 23 non-intentionally added substances (NIAS); NIAS adipic acid – diethylene glycol exceeds the threshold of toxicological concern in 40% of the pouches
July 21, 2023
Science editorial: Persistence of chemicals calls for innovation beyond PFAS
Scientist outlines why chemical persistence makes an update of chemical technology and traditional chemical risk assessment necessary; uses per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as an example while clarifying that innovation needs to go beyond PFAS
July 17, 2023
Studies present new generic and specific modeling approaches for FCCs migration
Scientists develop nonlinear model for predicting food contact chemical (FCC) migration and apply it to FCCs of high toxicological concern; emphasize usefulness of their model to speed up migration assessment of FCCs; different group of scientists proposes an innovative modeling approach to assess release of a specific additives and elements from plastic food packaging and steel processing tools
May 24, 2023
Study reveals knowledge gaps on PET oligomers migrating from FCMs
Scientists investigate available research on hazard and exposure of 34 oligomers in PET for food contact; 74% of them found to migrate; only 38% have been tested for their safety using computer models, while only one was tested for safety in organisms; authors call for further research and better risk assessment
May 8, 2023
UNEP: Over 3000 chemicals of concern in plastics
Technical report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) informs about “chemical-related issues of plastic pollution and options to address them”; finds 13,000 chemicals present in plastic; 7,000 have hazard data of which 3,200 are chemicals of concern; outlines chemical groups, use sectors of concern, human and ecosystem exposure, gaps and improvement options including substitution and waste management in a circular economy
May 2, 2023
Microplastics: recent insights into human exposure, cellular uptake, cancer metastasis
Researchers report plastic fragments may exacerbate breast cancer metastasis; review summarizes nanoplastic uptake into human cells; studies find occupational microplastics exposure can be reduced by wearing face masks; millions of micro- and nanoplastics are released during 30-second food blending; scientists more worried about microplastic impacts on the environment than humans
April 20, 2023
Baby foods as dominant pathway for infant exposure to antioxidants
Targeted analysis demonstrates widespread contamination of Chinese baby foods with traditional and novel antioxidants; plastic food packaging identified as one source; prevalent and high migration of 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol from different types of plastics
April 6, 2023
Phthalates found in diverse array of foods, from coffee to baby formula
Systematic review summarizes phthalate occurrence in different foods, discusses sources, and potential risk; researchers assess how coffee packaging and brewing method affects bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) and di-butyl phthalate (DBP) levels in coffee; perform targeted analysis of 245 plastic additives in baby foods; report widespread contamination including a median of 46.1 ng phthalate esters per gram baby food
February 27, 2023
Toward a guidance to assess safety of food packaging coatings
Interlaboratory study evaluates protocol for consistent safety assessment of coated metal packaging materials; guidance comprises sample preparation, chemical and biological analysis; finds technical differences affect outcome; emphasizes need for aligned protocol to avoid inconsistencies
January 31, 2023
Studies assess composition and safety of chemicals in recycled HDPE
Scientists analyze volatile compounds in recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE); detect 53 chemicals in two post-consumer HDPE milk bottles including plastic additives and non-intentionally added substances (NIAS); risk assessment shows samples do not comply with plastic food packaging regulation; report re-granulation process in mechanical recycling to remove most but not all odor and volatile organic compounds
