Food Contact Materials Regulation

9.00

The EU’s Policy Under Revision – What Does It Mean For FCM Regulation?

• From Green Deal to Clean Industrial Deal: state of the regulatory debates within the EU
• How is the Food Contact Materials framework affected?
• Goals for a more sustainable management of FCM

o   Waste reduction

o   Reusability and recycling

• Current and upcoming challenges

o   PFAS restrictions             

o   Microplastics

Neil Finley, Head of Food Safety, Product Safety and Regulatory Affairs, Henkel Adhesive Technologies, United Kingdom

9.40
FCM: the Regulatory Framework and Enforcement within the EU

• FCM: the regulatory framework and the role of enforcement
• Initiatives and challenges from an authority’s point of view
• Scientific input and how to react to new insights
• Upcoming issues

Dr Bernard Hegarty, Director of Enforcement Policy, Food Safety Authority of Ireland

10.20      Coffee Break

10.50
NIAS in Food Contact Materials - Issues and Solutions

• Definition and the origins of NIAS
• Hazard assessments: Why and when should they trouble us?
• Regulatory requirements in food contact materials
• The analytical workflow for identifying and quantifying NIAS
• Challenges with toxicological testing
• Points to consider for implementing SSbD (Safe and sustainable by design)

Malcolm Driffield, PhD, Managing Scientist - Food Safety and Food Contact Materials, Exponent International Ltd, United Kingdom

11.30
Conformity of IAS in Printed Food Contact Materials

• Legal requirements and the smallprint in the regulatory framework

o   FCM: European Framework Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004

• The EU and how to use Swiss reference works
• Practical implications with CMR assessment
• Genotoxicity: what we need to know
• Partial overlaps: NIAS Evaluation with regards to printing inks

Dr David Doenning, Expert Regulatory & Printed FCM, Canon Deutschland GmbH, Germany

12.10      Lunch Break

13.40
Current Developments in Recycling and Why They Are Concerning 

• The state of the EU’s recycling industry and what Asian production and trade policy have to do with it
• Learnings on polyolefines (new and recycled products)
• Understanding how decontamination works, and what it means for post-consumer polyolefine recycling
• Challenges with the PPWR goals

Dr Ulphard Thoden van Velzen, Senior Scientist Packaging Technology and Recycling, Wageningen Food & Biobased Research, the Netherlands

14.20
Requirements and Options for Recycled Plastics Intended for Food Contact

• EU requirements on recycled content in food packaging
• EU regulation on recycled plastics intended for food contact
• The role of EFSA (Scientific Guidances, e.g. PET)
• Outlook for PET and Polyolefines
• Industry efforts on safety and compliance of recycled plastics

Koen Weel, Scientific and Regulatory Affairs, Director Food Contact Materials, Coca-Cola Europe, the Netherlands (tbc)

15.00 Coffee break

15.30
Update on Regulatory and Policy Developments in the U.S.

• US requirements for FCM
• What has changed under the new administration?
• Consequences for imports
• Which topics are the authorities currently focussing on?
• What is the state of affairs on regulating PFAS in the US?

Daniel C. Rubenstein, Partner, Steptoe LLP, USA

16.10
Sustainable Solutions for Food Contact Materials

• Regulatory framework(s)

o   PPWR

• The ECHA review on the PFAS proposal
• Belgium‘s initiative to ban plastic-containing cups – practical implications within the EU market  
• Challenges with the Single Use Directive (SUPD) in the EU
• Key elements of sustainability beyong regulation

Dr Carlos de la Cruz Garcia, Head of Regulatory & Scientific Affairs, Nestlé System Technology Center, Switzerland

16.50      Chairman’s Closing Remarks

17.00      End of Day One

18.00      Evening Event