Press note: While the Draghi report is concerned about the economic implications from transitioning away from PFAS in Europe, this approach is fundamentally flawed given the health costs and severe health and environmental consequences associated with these substances.
The first publicly available database providing an overview of the chemicals that can be used in the processing of food contact materials and articles was released today [1], accompanied by a peer-reviewed scientific article [2]. The database has been compiled by a group of eminent scientists in the field, based on their analysis of 67 relevant and publicly available lists, and suggests that 12,285 chemical substances could possibility be used worldwide to make such materials and articles.
Highlights of the database include the following:
- Out of the 12,285 chemicals identified, 608 hold hazardous properties and are considered by researchers to be priorities for further assessment and/or substitution from use in food contact materials and articles.
- An additional 1,411 substances are also highlighted as being of concern, based on the analysis of predictive hazard data such as in silico modelling or literature analysis, and despite these not being covered by official hazard classifications at present time.
- For over a quarter of the substances identified in the database, no hazard information is available from the resources reviewed, suggesting a concerning safety data gap.
This scientific database illustrates the impressive work that independent scientists have been carrying for years in an effort to better characterise the properties of the numerous chemicals at play in materials and articles coming in contact with our food, and their potential migration therein. In contrast, the regulatory pace has been too slow.
Natacha Cingotti, Senior Policy Officer on Health and Chemicals at the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), said: “This database unfortunately confirms that today many of the substances that can be used in materials and articles coming in contact with our food are hazardous, that critical safety data are missing for regulatory assessments, and therefore it points to the urgent need to upgrade the European regulatory framework for food contact materials. The implementation of the recently agreed Chemicals Strategy for sustainability and the forthcoming revision of the regulation must address these issues.”
The database is being released at a critical point in time from both scientific and regulatory points of views. In March this year, a scientific consensus statement on the impacts of food contact chemicals on human health pointed to the reduction of exposure to such chemicals as a prevention tool to the development of chronic diseases [3] [4].
Moreover, in the context of the European Green Deal, the European Commission has committed to reducing human exposure to chemicals of concern, partly through its recently released Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability as well as through the revision of the framework regulation on food contact materials. An inception impact assessment on the latter is expected to be launched by the end of 2020 [5].
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