Food legislation and food safety – August 2021
Rules and regulations in Europe
EU: Smithers reports that the EC has circulated a draft text for the 16th amendment to Regulation (EU) 10/2011 on plastic FCMs. An EU Enforcement Action Plan on plastic FCMs made with bamboo powder as an additive has been launched. The EC has launched the EU Code of Conduct on Responsible Food Business and Marketing Practices, another deliverable under the Commission's Farm to Fork Strategy. FPF reports that EFSA has updated the guidance on nanomaterials in the food chain. The EC has registered the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) entitled European EcoScore, a mandatory label providing consumers with information about the environmental impact of products. Germany: Keller and Heckman reports that the BfR has updated a number of FCM recommendations. NL: Draft regulations designating Nutri-Score as a food choice logo have been sent to the EC. The NVWA has recently updated their booklet on food labelling (in Dutch).
Rules and regulations outside of Europe
China: Keller and Heckman reports that the government is requesting comments on eight FCMs and has approved three new FCMs, seven new resins and expanded use for nine FCMs. South Korea: SGS reports that the government has published a notice (in Korean) to revise the FCM standards. Thailand: The government has notified the WTO concerning five draft FCM regulations. You can find the notifications in a Keller and Heckman article. UK: The government has published the National Food Strategy. US: The House Energy and Commerce Committee has introduced the Food Labeling Modernization Act of 2021 (118 kB). The Federal Trade Commission has finalised a new rule to deter Made in USA claims fraud. The FDA has updated its Guidance for Industry: Use of Recycled Plastics in Food Packaging. The FDA has taken another step to protect food from PFAS contamination from plastic packaging. On August 5, the agency sent a letter (160 kB) to manufacturers, distributors, and users of fluorinated polyethylene FCMs reminding them that these articles must be made under specific conditions to comply with existing regulation. FPF reports that Connecticut, Vermont and Minnesota are banning the use of PFAS in food packaging.
Research on migration
ILSI organised a workshop to identify gaps in the knowledge about mineral oil. The outcomes (1.43 MB) were recently published in Trends in Food Science & Technology.
In an article (8.01 MB) published in Food Additives & Contaminants: Part A, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences researchers evaluate the presence of hazardous chemicals in paper and cardboard FCMs.
In a review (1.45 MB) published in the Journal of Food Science, Dalian University of Technology researchers study human exposure concentrations to microplastics via food and beverage consumption.
In an article (628 kB) published in Foods, University of Santiago de Compostela researchers provide an overview on the presence PFAS in FCMs and their migration into food.
Several FCMs contain non-intentionally added substances (NIAS), and most of the substances that migrate from plastic food packaging are unknown. In an article (3.06 MB) published in Polymers, Cidade Universitária researchers summarise the challenges in the detection, identification, and risk assessment of NIAS. In another article (2.01 MB) published in Food Chemistry, University of Zaragoza researchers study NIAS migration from plastic wine corks.
A new report (5.93 MB) by Defend Our Health found phthalates in the plastic liners of the metal caps in more than one-third of the 141 glass bottles tested.
NVC members receive this information with all the relevant links in the monthly NVC Members-only Update. If you have any questions, please contact us: info@nvc.nl, +31-(0)182-512411