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Maryland Governor Larry Hogan signed HB0275 into law on April 21, 2022. The new law prohibits the use, sale, and manufacture of food packages to which perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are intentionally added, beginning on January 1, 2024. “Food package” is defined as packaging (a) designed and intended for direct food contact and (b) substantially composed of paper, paperboard, or other materials originally derived from plant fibers, including packaging components.

Keller and Heckman’s Japanese Relations Advisor Takashi (TK) Namba will be one of the speakers at the PLASTICS Industry Association’s 2022 Spring Food Packaging Conference, to be held June 7-9, 2022, in Baltimore, MD. The title of TK’s presentation is: “Japanese Positive List: Challenges While Japan Gets the Sustainability Push.” The program also will include presentations on microplastics, nitrosamines, and updates on international regulatory initiatives related to food packaging. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently added 11 new substances to its Inventory of Effective Food Contact Substances (FCS) Notifications. The newly listed substances and the manufacturers are listed below.

A New York federal judge ruled in favor of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concerning the agency’s denial of a citizen petition to revoke the Threshold of Regulation (TOR) exemption allowing the inclusion of perchlorate in plastic food-contact articles.

California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) issued a second notice of modification to the proposed amendments limiting the availability of short-form warnings under Proposition 65.

A recently introduced bill in New Jersey (Bill S2145/A1554) would prohibit the sale, distribution, and import of certain products and packaging marked as recyclable, unless the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) determines that the products are widely recycled.

California Assembly Bill (A.B.) 2787 would ban the sale or distribution of designated products (including certain cosmetics, detergents, waxes and polishes) in California if the products contain intentionally added microplastics.

The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) recommended that the State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) establish a notification level (NL) for perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) at 2 parts per trillion (PPT), or the lowest level at which it can be reliably detected in drinking water using currently available and appropriate technologies.