Non-food legislation – February 2023

Hazardous substances – Rules and regulations in the EU
ECHA has added nine chemicals to the Candidate List of substances of very high concern (SVHCs). The list now contains 233 entries for chemicals that can harm people or the environment.
ECHA has published the PFAS restriction proposal under REACH that was submitted by five national authorities including the Netherlands. ECHA will now start evaluating the proposal in terms of the risks to people and the environment, and the impacts on society.
A consultation on the REACH Annex XV restriction proposal on BPA submitted by Germany is open until 22 June 2023.
ECHA has opened a call for evidence on PVC and its additives. The call closes 31 March 2023.
In January 2023, the EC published the transition pathway for the chemical industry.
France: The government (in French) has published a PFAS action plan 2023-2027 (in French, 421 kB). The plan aims to reduce risks at source, continue monitoring the environment, accelerate the production of scientific knowledge and facilitate access to information for citizens.

Other rules and regulations
Sweden: Draft legislation on tobacco-free nicotine products has been sent to the EC. The legislation includes provisions on how the declaration of contents and health warnings on packaging are to be designed and the stipulation that these must be in Swedish.
Turkey: Draft legislation concerning the subjection of wooden package material to heat treatment process and their marking has been sent to the EC.

Plastics and health issues
The EC has published a report (10.84 MB) entitled “Nanoplastics: state of knowledge and environmental and human health impacts”.
A recent CIAL study (13.19 MB) published in Microbial Biotechnology shows harmful impacts of micro(nano)plastics on human gut health.
Fathers exposed to chemicals in plastics can affect the metabolic health of their offspring for two generations, a UCR mouse study reports. The study (2.06 MB) is published in Environment International. Another mouse study reports that prenatal and postnatal exposure to polystyrene microplastics induces testis developmental disorder and affects male fertility. The Guangzhou Medical University study (10.67 MB) is published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials.
The non-phthalate plasticiser ATBC has endocrine-disrupting potential in fish, according to Kobe University research (2.03 MB) published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances.

Research on PFAS
DTU National Food Institute researchers have found PFAS in organic egg yolks in Denmark. The substances are most likely transferred via fishmeal, which is included in feed for the hens.
OECD has published a report (4.51 MB) on polymeric PFAS.
Researchers at the University of Queensland have developed a simple, fast and effective technique to remove PFAS chemicals from water. The study (6.94 MB) has been published in Angewandte Chemie.
 

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