Food legislation and food safety – October 2022

Food Contact Materials (FCMs) – rules and regulations in the EU
Regulation (EU) 2022/1616 on recycled plastic FCMs entered into force on 10 October 2022. The regulation repeals Regulation (EC) No 282/2008. More information can be found here. The EC has announced the opening of a public consultation within its ongoing revision of rules on FCMs. The consultation is open until 11 January 2023. The revised FCM regulation is currently scheduled for the second quarter of 2023. An FPF article gives an overview of recent meetings of the EFSA CEP Panel working groups on FCMs, bisphenol A (BPA), recycling plastics and phthalates. Germany: Regulations (in German) are being developed on the use of a functional barrier in FCMs made of waste paper to prevent the transfer of MOAH. The regulations were notified to the EC in August 2020.

Food Contact Materials (FCMs) – rules and regulations in the EU
China: Keller and Heckman reports that the government has approved two new resins and expanded use for one FCM and one resin. India: SGS reports that antimony and DEHP have been added to the list of substances in plastic FCMs subject to migration limits. The latest amendment (1.05 MB) expands the number of substances from seven to nine. The new requirements became effective on 31 August 2022. New Zealand: The New Zealand Food Safety Science and Research Center has published a resources page to support the use of recycled material in packaging by food and beverage companies. US: The FDA has reopened the comment period for the request for information on the remaining phthalates authorised for use in FCMs. The new deadline is 27 December 2022. Pennsylvania: On 3 October 2022, SB 1351 was introduced in the General Assembly. The bill would prohibit the manufacture, sale and distribution of food packaging containing PFAS as of 1 January 2024. Washington: Keller and Heckman reports that Preliminary Draft Rule Language (411 kB) has been released banning the manufacture, sale, and distribution of drink cans with a bisphenol-based epoxy can liner as of 1 January 2025. More information about the state’s Safer Products Program can be found here.

US: updated definition of ‘healthy’ claim and front-of-pack labelling
In September 2022, the Biden-⁠Harris Administration revealed the White House National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health (776 kB). One of the five pillars is empowering all consumers to make and have access to healthy choices. Among other things, a front-of-package labelling scheme for food packages will be developed, the nutrition criteria for the “healthy” claim on food packages will be updated and a symbol will be developed that companies may use to depict the claim. On the heels of the release of the national strategy, the FDA published a proposed rule on the updated criteria for the claim.

Food Contact Materials (FCMs) – research
A study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) has found that exposure to phthalates in the womb is associated with reduced lung function during childhood. The study (542 kB) is published in Environmental Pollution.
FPF reports on four recent studies on microplastic exposure through drinking cups and human health impacts. In one of the studies, scientists estimate that humans ingest between 37,613 and 89,294 particles of microplastics through plastic cups use per year.
 

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