Skip to main content

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it is amending the food additive regulations to no longer permit the use of styrene as a synthetic flavoring substance and adjuvant in food because that use has been permanently abandoned by industry. FDA took this action in response to a food additive petition (FAP) submitted by the Styrene Information and Research Center (SIRC).

MERCOSUR’s final draft of the revised GMC Resolution No. 32/07 permitting additives that may be used in the manufacture of plastic food-contact materials is undergoing a public national and international consultation prior to publication. The resolution includes specific migration limits and usage restrictions for an updated list of permitted additives, in addition to defining calculation methods for assessing compliance with SMLs.

The Washington State Senate is considering a bill that would conditionally restrict the use of perfluorinated chemicals in food packaging beginning in 2021, pending the outcome of an alternatives assessment to be completed by the state’s Department of Ecology (ECY). The bill, HB 2658, which passed the Washington State House on February 12, was read in the Senate on February 15 and referred to the Rules Committee on February 23.

How are Digester Additives in Food-Contact Paper Regulated in the EU?

Do the EU or German (BfR) authorities consider digester additives, used in pulp digesters, as part of the food contact regulation?   There is no...

The California Senate has amended further AB 958 on fluorinated chemicals in food packaging to specify specific actions that would be required under the Green Chemistry program. (For background information on the bill, see the PackagingLaw.com article, California Bill Prohibiting Fluorinated Chemicals Moves Forward With Modifications.)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a final rule amending the food additive regulations (21 C.F.R. Part 177.1210) to no longer provide for the use of potassium perchlorate as an additive in closure-sealing gaskets for food containers based on abandonment. (See the May 4 Federal Register.) This action was taken in response to a food additive petition submitted by Keller and Heckman on behalf of PLASTICS (formerly SPI).

The proposed California legislation on fluorinated chemicals in fast food packaging, AB-958, has been significantly amended to only ban products contain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) with eight or more carbon atoms. The bill originally sought to ban food packaging that contained any fluorinated chemical.

Following on the heels of a study by the Silent Spring Institute suggesting that fast food paper and paperboard may contain poly or perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and that PFAS may pose safety or environmental concerns, California Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) has introduced a bill, AB-958, that would “prohibit a food provider from serving, selling, offering for sale, or offeri