On July 25, 2023, the United Kingdom’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) announced that implementation of a new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system for packaging will be delayed one year until October 2025. The EPR system would apply to all UK organizations that import or supply packaging and would place the financial cost of managing products once they reach end of life on these business operators.
The European Commission (EC) has announced that it is working on a measure to further restrict the intentional use of bisphenol A (BPA) in food contact materials (FCMs). The EC hosted a webinar on July 18, 2023, to outline what may be included in forthcoming BPA legislation.
On August 1, 2023, China’s National Health Commission (NHC) approved expanded usage for two food-contact materials and one new resin. The substances and specifications are listed below.
Expanded Usage Food-Contact Materials
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently added three new substances to its Inventory of Effective Food Contact Substances (FCS) Notifications. The newly listed substances and the manufacturers are listed below.
On July 21, 2023, the U.S.
The 16th amendment to the Plastics Regulation, (EU) No 10/2011, was published on July 12, 2023, in the Official Journal of the European Union: Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/1442 of 11 July 2023 amending Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 on plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food, as regards changes to substance authorisations and addition of new substances.
The Rhode Island legislature recently passed a bill to extend the effective date of a ban on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food packaging from January 1, 2024, until July 31, 2024. The bill, 2023—S0724, which focuses on PFAS in drinking water, groundwater, and surface water, was signed into law by Governor Dan McKee on June 22, 2023.
On June 28, 2023, the China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA) requested comments on four food-contact materials and articles: two are for expanded use, one is a new additive, and one is a new resin. Comments are due by July 24, 2023.
Food-Contact Additives with Expanded Use
On June 3, 2023, The Washington State Department of Ecology (DoE) published its Draft Identification of Priority Chemicals Report to the Legislature as a part of the Safer Products for Washington project, cycle 2, implementation phase 1.
On June 7, 2023, U.S. Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced the Food Chemical Reassessment Act of 2023. The bill would require the establishment of an Office of Food Safety Reassessment (the Office) within the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) and require that the Office reassess the safety of at least ten substances added to food or food packaging every three years, beginning in 2024.