The European Union’s new minimum hygiene requirements for materials and products that come into contact with drinking water were published in the Official Journal of the European Union on April 23, 2024. The new measures (three Implementing Decisions and three Delegated Regulations) will apply to materials and products intended to be used in new installations for the abstraction, treatment, storage, distribution of water or for repair works, such as supply pipes, valves, pumps, water meters, fittings, and taps.
On May 1, 2024, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed SB 24-081, “Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Chemicals Protection Act.” The Act expands on HB 22-1345 by including a ban on int
New information published by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) on the types of products that will be subject to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) prohibitions beginning in January 2025 includes an explanation of the items considered “cookware.” Cookware is one of the initial 11 products subject to the state’s ban of products containing intentionally added PFAS under Minn. Stat. § 116.943, better known as Amara’s Law.
Colorado Governor Jared Schutz Polis signed HB22-1345 into law on June 3, 2022. The new law, as previously reported, prohibits the sale or distribution of fiber-based food packaging and other products, such as fabric treatments, carpets, cosmetics, juvenile products, and textile furnishings, to which PFAS has been inten
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1200, known as the California Safer Food Packaging Cookware Act of 2021, on October 5, 2021. The bill bans the use of perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in food packaging composed in substantial part of paper, paperboard, or other materials derived from plant fibers. It also requires warning labels on cookware to which PFAS was intentionally added.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a Threshold of Regulation (TOR) exemption (TOR-2021-003) for the use of metal carbides and metal carbide alloys as components of ceramic coatings in repeat-use applications. These applications include food processing equipment parts – such as nozzles, bearings, seal rings, pumps, etc.
Massachusetts and California have pending bills that would impact the use of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in cookware.
Washington State has enacted a law that establishes minimum recycled content requirements for certain plastic products and prohibits the sale and distribution of certain expanded polystyrene products. The law will also limit the distribution of single-use plastic products by food service establishments. In addition, the law, which becomes effective on July 17, 2021, establishes registration and reporting requirements for manufacturers of certain plastic products.
China State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) requested comments on two Voluntary National Standards concerning biodegradable materials.