Food legislation and food safety - March 2019
Endocrine disrupting chemicals
EFSA mentions in a press release that it is launching a public consultation on the draft update of its 2005 risk assessments of a number of phthalates which are authorised for use in plastic food contact materials. For the updated draft opinion, EFSA has established a group tolerable daily intake (TDI) of 50 µg/kg bodyweight per day for four of the substances –DBP, BBP, DEHP, and DINP. The deadline for comments is 14 April 2019.
In a press release, EDC Free Europe highlights a recent report (2.49 MB) commissioned by the European Parliament’s Petition Committee that further illustrates scientists’ concerns over the potential health impacts from human exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs).
The Nordic Council of Ministers published A socioeconomic analysis of environmental and health impacts linked to exposure to PFAs. In a news item they state that this study provides an assessment that is intended to be used to raise better awareness of the costs and long-term problems that the use of fluorinated substances may cause for the environment or human health.
Eurofins reports that on 6 February 2019, the Danish Ministry of Environment and Food published an article (in Danish) explaining that Denmark is considering to ban the use of organic fluorinated substances in cardboard and paper food contact materials. The Minister asked the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration to examine the possibilities of a national ban on the use of the entire group of organic fluorine compounds in cardboard and paper food packaging.
Food Packaging Legislation
Smithers Pira published an article about the latest amendment to the EU Food Contact Plastics legislation: EU Regulation 2019/37.
SGS reports updates in USA legislation for BPA in Consumer Products. Since the beginning of 2019, bills have been introduced by some US jurisdictions to regulate BPA or BPA-analogues in certain consumer goods. For example the ‘Bisphenol Free Children and Babies Act’ in New York that includes a list of BPA-analogues.
On 25 February 2019, Keller and Heckman published an article about Japan's Regulation of Food Contact Materials - A Step Closer to the New Positive List System.
Labelling
According to the findings from a 4-year EU-funded research project CLYMBOL, health and nutrition messaging on packaging should be as simple as possible, as well as scientifically substantiated. Packaging Insights reports that it is hoped that the findings will inform future policy development to align “consumer protection issues as well as public health and food marketing communication interests.”
Food Compliance states that the European Commission has published the list of generic descriptors which are excluded from the scope of the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation 1924/2006. The given exemptions are language and country specific and can be found in Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/343.
Mineral oils
Food Packaging Forum reports that on 23 February 2019, the Task Force on Mineral Oil of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, published a guidance on “sampling and analysis of mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) in food and food contact materials in the frame of Recommendation (EU) 2017/84 for the monitoring of mineral oils”.
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