Research study identifies 8 of 13 benzotriazole UV stabilizers (BUVSs) as endocrine disruptors; finds 8 of 9 tested BUVSs in polyolefin packaging
August 18, 2021
Toxicological and chemical profiling of plastic migrates
Scientific study investigates in vitro toxicity and composition of chemical mixtures migrating from everyday plastic products made of eight polymer types; demonstrates that thousands of chemicals can leach under realistic use conditions, including compounds toxic in vitro that contribute to human exposure; emphasizes the importance to rethink and redesign plastics to achieve safe materials
August 13, 2021
Hazard prioritization of printing inks and adhesives substances
Scientific study performs hazard prioritization on chemicals in printing inks and adhesives applied to plastic food packaging; uses publicly available “substances of concern” lists and an in silico tool; identifies 636 high and 1024 medium priority substances of which 696 ranked as “very high priority substances” by experts
July 29, 2021
Study finds microplastics induce reproductive toxicity in male mice
Study investigates reproductive toxicity of environmental concentrations of polystyrene (PS) microplastics to male mice; further examines underlying molecular mechanism; study is first to find long-term PS microplastic exposure affects sperm quality and testosterone levels in mice
July 15, 2021
Bioassay-based analysis of chemicals in paper & cardboard
Scientific study evaluates presence of hazardous chemicals in methanolic extracts from paper and cardboard food contact materials (FCMs) using several bioassays; finds oxidative stress (52%), genotoxicity (100%), impacts on xenobiotic metabolism (74%), antiandrogenic (52%) and antioestrogenic effects (39%); recommends an effect-based approach for hazard identification of food contact chemicals
February 4, 2021
FPF comments on EFSA’s non-monotonic dose response opinion
Scientific Committee’s Scientific Opinion fails to deliver on European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) commitment to scientific excellence and transparency; Food Packaging Forum (FPF) sends open letter to EFSA’s leadership urging them to address severe shortcomings in content and process; adequate scientific appraisal of non-monotonic dose response (NMDR) is critical for chemical risk assessment that protects public health
January 27, 2021
Scientists measure mixtures of EDCs from human placenta
Study by the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) finds chemical mixture extracts from human placenta with endocrine-disrupting properties, confirming developmental exposure to EDCs in the womb; novel method can help identify the link between chemical exposures and harmful human health outcomes
January 25, 2021
GenX: developmental toxicant in rats
Study finds developmental toxicity in rats for hexafluoropropylene oxide-dimer acid (HFPO-DA or GenX); exposure results in reduced pup birth weights, increased pup liver weight, and reduced neonatal survival; similar adverse effects to other per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances; knowledge gaps regarding clearance rate and human half-life
December 15, 2020
Using ToxCast data to assess food chemicals
Scientists explore the utility of-throughput screening data for hazard assessment and toxicological read-across of food-relevant chemicals; observe some biological targets to lack validated toxicity associations; demonstrate application in identifying out-of-domain compounds
November 30, 2020
FPF publishes food contact chemicals database
Researchers led by the Food Packaging Forum (FPF) publish new database identifying over 12,200 distinct chemicals that could be used in manufacture of food contact materials and articles; 29% lacking openly accessible toxicity data; 608 identified as most hazardous, prioritized for substitution; published study and database freely accessible