The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated its website on June 4 to include information on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the food supply. The webpage on PFAS provides a brief description of PFAS and discusses efforts that FDA is undertaking to better understand their potential dietary exposure. The Agency announced the formation in 2019 of an internal work group on PFAS and its commitment to engage with consumers, industry, and other stakeholders in the process.
Does the recent French ban on titanium dioxide as a food additive, in Article 53 of the LOI n° 2018-938 of 30 October 2018, include the use of...
Legislation recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives seeks to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) to deem any perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) used as a food contact substance to be unsafe and, therefore, adulterated under the FD&C Act. The “Keep Food Containers Safe from PFAS Act,” H.R. 2827, would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) until 2022 to enforce this ban.
On March 28, 2019, the Maine legislature introduced a bill to prohibit intentionally added phthalates and perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food packaging. Titled, “An Act To Protect the Environment and Public Health by Further Reducing Toxic Chemicals in Packaging,” the proposed bill would amend the state’s toxics in packaging law, which currently prohibits the unnecessary addition of heavy metals to packaging and its components. Earlier in March, Maine’s governor issued an executive order to establish a task force to study PFAS contamination.
The Governor of Maine, Janet T. Mills, issued an Executive Order on March 6, 2019, to establish a task force to study perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) contamination in the state. The Task Force’s purpose is to identify the extent of PFAS exposure in the state, examine the risks of PFAS exposure to human health and the environment, and make recommendations to effectively address such risks.
Specifically, the Task Force will:
The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) has requested input from interested parties on products that can replace per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food packaging, particularly those that provide oil and grease resistance. The information is being gathered as part of an alternatives assessment (AA) required by Washington’s Toxics in Packaging Law (RCW 70.95G).
The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) published an alternatives assessment (AA) project summary for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on November 6, 2018 (available here). The assessment is required by legislation concerning the use of perfluorinated chemicals in food packaging, HB 2658, that was signed into law by the governor on March 21, 2018.
In February 2018, California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) released a Draft Three-Year Priority Product Work Plan for 2018 through 2020 (Draft Work Plan that includes food packaging as a priority category. DTSC is required to issue a work plan every three years under the state’s Green Chemistry Initiative and the Safer Consumer Products (SCP) implementing regulations
The SCP regulations establish a four-step process to identify and regulate products that may expose consumers to toxic chemicals.
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.
The European Union published a regulation in the Official Journal on February 14, 2018, that further restrict the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in certain food-contact materials.