Two bills that would increase recycling accessibility in communities and improve recycling data collection were re-introduced in the U.S. Senate on April 19, 2023, by members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW). The bipartisan legislation was introduced by Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), ranking member of the EPW Committee; Tom Carper (D-DE), Chairman of the EPW Committee; and John Boozman (R-AK), a member of the EPW Committee.

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

California Assembly Bill 418 passed the Assembly Committee on Health by a vote of 12 to 1 on April 11, 2023, and was re-referred to the Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials. AB 418 would ban the manufacture, sale, and distribution of any food product that contains titanium dioxide, brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, or red dye #3.

A recently introduced bill in California, AB1290, would ban plastic packaging that contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), along with other substances. (Currently, PFAS is banned in paper packaging in California. For more information on the existing ban click here.) If AB1290 passes, the ban would become effective January 1, 2026.

Listed below are recently introduced legislation in other states that include bans of PFAS in food packaging.

On April 7, 2023, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) proposed lowering the "No Significant Risk Level" (NSRL) from ethylene oxide from 2 to 0.058 micrograms (µg) per day under the state’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, also known as Proposition 65. Ethylene oxide is listed as a carcinogen under Proposition 65.

Food and Drug Administration Director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) Susan Mayne announced that she will retire on May 31, 2023. Dr. Mayne has served as Director of CFSAN since January 2015. Another retirement among FDA leadership occurred earlier this year when FDA Deputy Commissioner of Food Policy and Response Frank Yiannas retired on February 24, 2023.

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

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.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will host a half-day public workshop, “Talking Trash at the FTC: Recyclable Claims and the Green Guides,” on May 23, 2023. Topics of discussion at the workshop will include: the current state of recycling practices and recycling-related advertising in the U.S.; consumer perception of current and emerging recycling-related claims; and the need for any updates or other changes to the Green Guides related to recycling claims.

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