Alert: Paper Box Chemicals No Longer Considered Safe by FDA for Contact With Food

[dixiegrrrrl]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Monday announced it plans to publish a final rule banning three chemicals used in many pizza boxes and other food packaging.

In response to a petition filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Center for Food Safety, the Breast Cancer Fund, the Center for Environmental Health, Clean Water Action, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Children’s Environmental Health Network, Environmental Working Group, and Improving Kids’ Environment, FDA said it was going to ban three specific perfluoroalkyl ethyl types.

The perfluoroalkyl ethyl is used in food contact substances (FCSs) that act as oil and water repellants for paper and paperboard, which comes in contact with aqueous and fatty foods. FDA says new data is available that shows the toxicity of substances structurally similar to these compounds that demonstrate there is no longer a reasonable certainty of no harm from the food-contact use of these FCSs.

FDA says the final rule will take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. The process also includes the possibility for filing objections and demands for a public hearing.

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2016/01/paper-box-chemicals-no-longer-considered-safe-by-fda-for-contact-with-food/

[gratuitous]

1. Oh, this is just whoo!

Alarmist, unsubstantiated fear-mongering by whoo emos who haven't a shred of evidence, just a bunch of hooey about so-called chemicals. There are chemicals everywhere! Life can't exist without them. This has been going on for a long time, and nobody's growing third arms. Besides, this will cut deeply into the profits of box manufacturers.

Did I miss any of the talking points from the "let's mess with our food supply, what could go wrong" folks?

[Act_of_Reparation]

5. Yes, you did.

You missed the part where the three chemicals subject to the FDA's ban aren't even manufactured anymore.

Also, it's spelled "woo".

[Warpy]

2. Hence, that mylar inner liner

that requires tin snips to chew through.

[Sherman A1]

3. K&R!

Thanks for posting.

[eppur_se_muova]

4. three "perfluoroalkyl ethyl types" ... WTF does that mean ?

Wish journos would keep the phone/email of a chemist handy, so they can ask "Does this name make sense ? No ? What would ?"

But NOOOOOOOOOOOO ... you give them a meaningful chemical name and they immediately decide they're on a first-name basis, so no need to write the whole thing out, let's just abbreviate that sucker ... never mind that the shortened version they come up with now conveys different info from the original, or no really meaningful info at all.

As a chemist, I can *guess* what they mean, and likely be correct -- but that's not always possible, or even safe. Fortunately, other articles on this topic are just sufficiently more careful with nomenclature that one can reasonably conclude they are referring to perfluoroalkylethylsulfonates (PFAS's) {maybe, maybe not. see ETA below}.

ETA: Apparently, the abbreviation PFAS has been broadened to mean "poly- and perfluoroalkylsubstances", although it originally referred specifically to sulfonates, at least within the industry. Presumably, these have been lumped together because of the tendency of most such substances to degrade to the same products, which are the ultimate pollutants.

[dixiegrrrrl]

7. I usually let google decipher that stuff for me.

cause my brain cells are old.....

[TheBlackAdder]

6. Does this include Paper Cups and Paper Plates too? nt