Food Contact Materials (FCM), from packaging to tableware, kitchen utensils and food processing requirements, contains thousands of chemicals. Those chemicals, many of which hazardous, can migrate to the food, ending up in our bodies. Consumers tend to assume that we are protected, notably though regulations, but are we really?

The 12th of May as part of our Luve! series, we have organised a webinar to dive into the chemicals found in food contact materials, what adverse effects they can have on human health, and how they also hinder recycling and the circular economy. The results of a recent project focusing on phthalates have been presented as a supporting example.

We also looked into the main limitations of the EU policy framework on FCM, before exploring solutions as well as opportunities rising to strengthen the rules in the context of the European Green Deal to both protect human health and guarantee a toxic-free circular economy.

Some of the key questions the webinar explored:

• The migration of hazardous chemicals from packaging to the food and drinks, and eventually our bodies, with the specific example of phthalates testing
• The lack of traceability of, and transparency on, chemicals in FCM
• The EU policy framework for FCM, its insufficiencies and what is needed to strengthen it
• The FCM issue in the transition towards sustainable relocalised food systems and a toxic-free circular economy

Check out the webinar recording here & download the speakers’ presentations.