The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) updated its administrative guidance to implement new provisions required by the Transparency Regulation (EU) 2019/1381 and are applicable both to applications for new authorizations and modifications of existing authorizations. (See the PackagingLaw.com article, New EU Transparency Regulation to Apply from March 27, 2021, for more information on this regulation.)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently added eight new substances to its Inventory of Effective Food Contact Substances (FCS) Notifications. The newly listed substances and the manufacturers are listed below.
Germany’s Draft Twenty-second Ordinance amending the German Ordinance on Consumer Goods, which establishes limits on the transfer of mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) from food contact materials (FCMs) made from recycled paper and board, has been notified to the World Trade Organization (WTO) under the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Agreement. The Draft is open for comment by the WTO Member States until 21 May 2021.
Keller and Heckman Associate Eric Gu will give a presentation on food packaging regulation in the Asia-Pacific region, with a focus on regulatory regimes in China and Japan, at the Vitafoods Insights Virtual Expo, which is being held virtually. The key themes of the expo are mental performance, gut and immune health, sports and active nutrition, healthy ageing.
More information, including how to register, can be found here.
On April 21, 2021, China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA) requested comments on five food-contact substances, including three new resins, one food-contact material, and one expanded-use additive. The substances and specifications are shown below.
New Food-Contact Materials and Articles
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently added seven new substances to its Inventory of Effective Food Contact Substances (FCS) Notifications. The newly listed substances and the manufacturers are listed below.
Washington state has announced that, based on the availability of safer alternatives, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in four types of food packaging will be banned as of February 2023. By way of background, the state’s Toxics in Packaging Law was amended in 2018 to include a ban on PFAS in food packaging that would become effective in January 2022 if safer alternatives were identified by January 2020.
The Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse (TPCH) revised its Model Toxics in Packaging Legislation in February 2021. The revised model legislation includes per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and phthalates as regulated chemicals, and establishes new processes for identifying additional packaging chemicals of high concern. The model legislation has no legal effect, but the prior version of the model legislation was enacted – in some form – in 19 states.