Digest Reports from Foodchain ID Regulatory Trends

In fact, the food and beverage industry frequently ranks as the largest end-use sector for paper packaging. In response, many brands have pivoted away from plastic, positioning paper packaging as the eco-friendly alternative. With the global chocolate packaging market projected – an 88% increase from 2022 – this is the moment for brands to rethink their approach. If business continues as usual, paper packaging is projected to continue to be one of the fastest growing packaging materials, growing almost 5% every year and paper isn’t the green saviour it’s often made out to be. Even consumers are rooting for this relationship: viewing plant-based packaging, like Next Gen, as extremely or very sustainable, higher than paper packaging.

Classification in that category occurs if there is only a suspicion, arising from human and/or animal studies, that a substance or mixture has the potential to cause cancer in humans, but where the evidence is not sufficiently convincing to place that substance in category 1. On the contrary, classification in category 1 requires that it is either known that a substance may cause cancer, based on evidence of causality obtained from human studies between the exposure to that substance and the development of cancer (category 1A) or that it is presumed that the substance has carcinogenic.

China has 7.01 million hectares of bamboo forests and is the world's largest producer and exporter of bamboo products, according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration. At the forefront of the movement to replace plastics with bamboo are major bamboo production areas in China such as Zhejiang, Fujian, Sichuan, Guangdong and Anhui provinces. The nation's bamboo forests account for an area similar in size to the entirety of Ireland. Bai Xia, who manages Anji's bamboo products exhibition centre that showcases the innovative uses of the plant, said, "Since 2022, bamboo food trays have been replacing plastic ones in local government canteens and affiliated bodies." Editor's note: China Daily is publishing a series illustrating the country's efforts to achieve its carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals.

EPA is proposing to add over 100 PFAS chemicals to the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) reporting obligations. Various adverse health outcomes linked to PFAS exposure include immune system effects, thyroid effects, liver effects, and developmental effects. Since there is no single definition of PFAS, different regulators may use different definitions of what constitutes a regulated PFAS. EPA uses a categorical approach for regulating some PFAS. These categories are based on structural similarities and shared toxicological properties. Industry currently subject to TRI reporting argues that eliminating the exemption would impose unnecessary compliance burdens, particularly for small businesses, without providing significant benefits. Federal and state agencies are moving forward with additional regulations addressing chemicals known as Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS).

This process can enable efficient PET recycling in a single step with pure polymer being recovered from the solvent. Chemical recycling methods also offer a valuable future pathway to deliver virgin grade rPP. Overall, innovations in recycling food grade PET and PP are paving the way for a more sustainable future in food packaging and may be applicable to the recycling of other polymer materials commonly used in the packaging industry. PET has a higher recycling rate, with more than three quarters of used PET drinks bottles being collected and recycled in the UK, according to Which? data. However, innovations in labelling and sorting rPP can ensure that food grade PP can be separated and used again. Another method of recycling PET involves making use of organic solvents.

The UK’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has cancelled the mandatory take back scheme for single-use cups, citing prohibitive costs of £52 million (US $65.9m).

In order to avoid technical barriers to trade and to minimize health risks for consumers, the revision of the Consumer Goods Ordinance is intended to align Swiss law in the area of materials and articles intended to come into contact with food with European Union law. In doing so, changes to Regulation (EU) No. 10/2011 on plastic materials and articles resulting from Regulation (EU) 2023/1442 are partially adopted. Regulation (EU) No. 10/2011 and in particular the lists of permitted substances in its annexes must be regularly adjusted in order to take account of scientific and technical knowledge by adding new permitted substances or by adjusting application restrictions. Annex 10 (substances for the manufacture of printing inks) is also being adjusted to the latest technical and scientific knowledge.

The ban means that BPA will not be allowed in products that come into contact with food or drink, such as the coating on metal cans, reusable plastic drink bottles, water distribution coolers and other kitchenware. The ban follows a positive vote by EU Member States earlier this year, and a scrutiny period by the Council and the European Parliament and takes into account the latest scientific assessment from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). EFSA notably concluded that BPA had potentially harmful effects on the immune system, and the proposed ban followed both a public consultation and extensive discussions with all Member States.

Title Application for the authorisation of the recycling process EREMA_EREMA Advanced to produce recycled plastic for food contact uses Full Name Application for the authorisation of the recycling process EREMA_EREMA Advanced to produce recycled plastic for food contact uses Scope of Consultation EREMA Engineering Recycling Maschinen und Anlagen Ges.m.b.H. submitted a number of studies and scientific data in the frame of an application for the authorisation of the recycling process EREMA_ER contact uses pursuant to Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/1616. Additional data or files to support the comments may be submitted solely by using the relevant function in the digital form. Comments containing personal accusations, irrelevant or offensive statements or material will not be considered. An e-mail will be automatically sent to the person submitting the comments notifying the successful submission. Relevant contributions will be considered and addressed during the related scientific assessment.

Food Safety Standards and Monitoring and Evaluation Department No. 6 of 2024 According to the provisions of the "Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China", the review agency organized experts to review and approve the safety assessment materials for Camellia chrysantha culture applied as a new food raw material, 8 substances such as glucoamylase applied as new varieties of food additives, and 2 substances such as 1,3,5-trimethyl-2,4,6-tris (3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzyl) benzene applied as new varieties of food-related products.