Topics
chemical safety
October 15, 2026
Food Packaging Forum (FPF) submits comments on Codex Alimentarius discussion paper proposing international guidelines on the safe use of recycled plastic food contact materials (FCMs); welcomes efforts to address food safety but raises concerns that scientific rationale for plastic-specific guidance remains insufficient; current approaches cannot adequately demonstrate chemical safety of plastic FCMs; concept of food safety requires concrete definition
Reading time: 2 minutes
September 28, 2026
German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) proposes tiered approach for evaluating non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) in food contact materials (FCMs) depending on migration levels; acknowledges some NIAS may remain unidentified
Reading time: 4 minutes
September 3, 2026
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) drafts standards for plastic food contact materials (FCMs) intended for child use and for microwave use; Food Packaging Forum (FPF) submits comments highlighting need for stronger chemical safety provisions; raises concerns on limited list of restricted chemicals, potential for regrettable substitutions, chemical safety issues of recycled plastics
Reading time: 3 minutes
September 1, 2026
Scientists from the Food Packaging Forum present practical grouping approach to address regulatory gaps in food contact chemicals; 87% of chemicals lack adequate safety data; study includes free tools to help stakeholders screen for and identify potentially hazardous chemicals
Topics: chemical safety, grouping
Reading time: 3 minutes
June 17, 2026
European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) publishes report outlining “key areas of regulatory challenge”; includes protecting against most harmful chemicals, promoting safe circular materials; outlines steps for creating harmonized classification for neuro- and immunotoxicity
Topics: chemical safety, ECHA
Reading time: 2 minutes
March 17, 2026
PR3 and CSA Group share design standard for durability and safety of reusable containers over repeated use and washing; include chemicals and chemical groups that cannot be used in manufacturing; limit use of post-consumer recycled content in reusable plastic containers for food and beverage applications; add disclosure requirements for manufacturing materials
Reading time: 2 minutes
January 20, 2026
Updated version of Food Contact Chemicals Priority (FCCprio) List introduces new resources; shows which chemicals have been used to make or have been found in relevant food contact materials; users can now compare their own chemical set(s) with the FCCprio List
Reading time: 1 minute
September 1, 2025
Food Packaging Forum (FPF) scientists submit comments to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) public consultation; urge using a hazard-based approach, considering endocrine disruption as toxicity criterion, and adopting GHS classifications to prioritize chemicals for assessment; call to increase transparency during all evaluation stages
Reading time: 3 minutes
June 11, 2025
Food Packaging Forum releases the Food Contact Chemicals Priority (FCCprio) List; 1,222 substances have harmonized hazard data showing persistence, bioaccumulation, mobility, carcinogenicity, reproductive toxicity, endocrine disruption, or others; 81 % of all known food contact chemicals lack harmonized hazard data
Reading time: 2 minutes
March 27, 2025
New version of Understanding Packaging (UP) Scorecard launched; applies an updated chemicals of concern list, provides access to a new interactive user guide, and allows users to compare entire portfolios of foodware and packaging products
Reading time: 2 minutes
