As the EU is considering a ban on bisphenol A (BPA) and its analogues in food packaging based on the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) recent lowering of its tolerable daily intake (TDI) for the chemical, an international group of academic experts has penned their support for EFSA’s nontraditional risk assessment behind the new BPA TDI, and call on other regulatory agencies around the globe to modernize their risk assessment approaches of endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
The European Commission recently made changes to the maximum levels of the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) in food with Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/1022, amending Regulation (EU) 2023/915.
Designated by the European Commission, Denmark and Sweden have formed a public health consortium to jointly establish an EU reference laboratory or antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which will contribute to diagnostics and infection preparedness.
PFAS are sometimes used in pesticides as active substances or co-formulants. An analysis of EU pesticide residue monitoring data by Pesticide Action Network Europe shows that the average proportion of produce containing PFAS pesticide residues in the EU has nearly tripled over the last decade.
The presence of veterinary drugs and other substances in food animals and animal-derived foods in the EU remains low, according to the most recent data reported by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
The European Parliament and Council have reached a provisional agreement on the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which, if ratified, would require all packaging used in the EU to be recyclable, set restrictions on plastic packaging, and ban the use of toxic PFAS in food contact packaging.
A joint report published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and other EU agencies shows that decreased use of antibiotics in animals and humans leads to a reduction in antibiotic-resistant (AMR) bacteria.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has launched a public consultation for a draft guidance on the requirements for applications for novel food authorizations in the EU, and will hold a public webinar for stakeholders in March about the draft guidance.
Aflatoxin-contaminated nuts and seeds dominated mycotoxin notifications made through the EU’s Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) between 2011 and 2021, according to a recent study.
A 2021 multinational foodborne illness outbreak investigation involving imported melons contaminated by Salmonella Braenderup exemplifies effective collaboration across countries, rapid information sharing, and harmonized data collection, and the lessons learned could form the basis of standard practices in multinational outbreak investigations.
