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On January 23, 2024, the European Commission adopted new minimum hygiene standards for materials and products that come into contact with drinking water. The new standards will apply to materials and products intended to be used in new installations for the abstraction, treatment, storage, or distribution of water or for repair works, such as supply pipes, valves, pumps, water meters, fittings, and taps.

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.

What Legal Considerations Apply to Flyers in Fast Food Bags?

For flyers that will be placed in fast food bags, are there any considerations besides the need to use food safe ink?  It is certainly possible...

How Do You Determine if a Functional Barrier Exists?

FDA does not provide specific criteria for what constitutes a functional barrier. We would like to test a material that would coat a cup made of...

Keller and Heckman Partner Rachida Semail and Scientist Rob Veraart will be giving presentations at the NIAS and Mineral Oils: Regulatory Affairs Conference, which will take place at the Charles Hotel in Munich, Germany, March 28-29, 2018. Ms. Semail will speak on the current regulatory situation of mineral oils; while Dr. Veraart will speak on the Determination of NIAS from food processing equipment.