Food Contact Material - BPA issues

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Food Contact Material - BPA issues
E.C. is 27 countries and 1 market, whereas U.S.A. is 50 states and 1 country (1 market).
The French National Assembly has passed a bill that bans all food contact packaging containing Bisphenol A (BPA) from 2014. EFSA rejected the French bill.

The U.S. FDA agreed to rule on whether to ban BPA use in food and beverage packaging by March 31, 2012 in the District Court for the Southern district of New York (per Chicago Tribune December 7, 2011). Please take note that NRDC sued U.S. FDA in 2010 asking the court to require the agency to respond to 2008 NRDC filed a petition.

Questions:
- Do you think EFSA can ask the French National Assembly to nullify this bill?
- Do you think U.S. FDA can simply walk away ignoring this issue?
- What will happen if either one of them agrees to ban BPA use in food contact packaging




John's comments regarding vinyl, epoxy and acrylic technologies are right on target. It appears that in addition to being "green", any chemical products or chemical by-products identified, by any of the number of extraction requirements globally, will need to be considered. We may be simply moving from one "forest" of (extraction) peaks to a totally unknown forest of peaks. For each peak identified the standardized toxicity tests used globally for regulatory decision will need to be performed. Any carcinogenicity and genotoxicity or similar issue will need to be identified. This is in addition all of the flavor, pack test and other performance testing required to introduce a new coating to the market. The amount of time needed to bring a new coating to this market will increase substantially. Epoxy and vinyl technologies offer a lot of technical advantages and have been well studied. If the public fear of BPA containing materials does drive the industry to new technologies, based on the amount of environmental and performance testing required, what form will the future food or beverage container take?

26% of Coca-Cola shareholders support BPA resolution

Chemical Watch: "A resolution asking Coca-Cola to disclose its plans for continued use of bisphenol-A (BPA) in beverage can linings won support from 26% of company investors at Coke’s 27 April annual meeting in Atlanta. The resolution was introduced by the shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, socially responsible investment firms Domini Social Investments and Trillium Asset Management Corporation along with several religious investment groups, and was..."

US shareholders question companies on use of BPA

Chemical Watch "Another resolution has been proposed for resubmission to Coca Cola after it received 21.9% investor support last year. It calls on the company to update investors on 'how it is responding to the public policy challenges associated with BPA, including summarising what the company is doing to maintain its position of leadership and public trust on this issue, the company’s role in adopting or encouraging development of alternatives to BPA in can linings, and any material risks to the company’s market share or reputation in staying the course with continued use of BPA.'"

As You Sow reports a record-breaking year in 2010 when "nearly one-fifth of all investors supported calls for more disclosure and action on social environmental at US companies" adding that "the stage is set for more of the same in spring 2011".

Coca-Cola dismisses BPA criticisms as shareholder coalition vows to fight on

Beverage Daily: "Michael Passoff, senior program director at As You Sow, told FoodProductionDaily.com that few new resolutions of this kind received more than 5-6 per cent backing on a first year vote - as he highlighted the proposal had received some heavyweight backing. RiskMetrics Group and Proxy Governance – the first and third largest proxy analyst services in the US - both recommend voting for the resolution. CalPERS, the largest pension fund in the US, voted all of its 6,075,143 shares (worth around $346m) in favour of the move, as did the Investor Environmental Health Network – a shareholder network with $41bn in combined assets, he added."

General Mills to go BPA-free in organic tomato cans

Eat, Drink and Be: "Due to consumer demand, General Mills has announced its canned organic tomato products will now be packaged in BPA-free containers. The company plans the switch for the next tomato harvest period.

Bisphenol A, or BPA, is typically present in the lining of canned foods and other plastic-based commercial food packaging. Consumers concerns have risen after numerous animal studies linked the chemical to some cancers and inhibited development in young rodents. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency and Food and Drug Administration have “some concerns” about the chemical’s use in products for young children and are conducting further research on possible health risks associated with the chemical’s use. The FDA has urged food manufacturer’s to consider alternatives in food packaging.

In its recent Corporate Social Responsibility 2010 report, General Mills says it believes BPA is safe, 'However, we know that some of our consumers would like us to pursue alternatives - and we are working with our can suppliers and can manufacturers to develop and test alternative linings that do not use BPA.'"

Coca-Cola facing shareholder challenge over bisphenol A

Beverage daily: "Shareholders from Coca-Cola will vote today on a proposal urging the company to disclose how it is responding to public fears over bisphenol A (BPA), which is used in the linings of Coke’s beverage cans.
The move comes after social investment companies accused Coca-Cola of failing to show shareholders and consumers that it was taking sufficient steps to address public anxiety over the substance.

The bid is the first ever shareholder motion focussed solely on BPA, said Domini Social Investments, As You Sow, and Trillium Asset Management Corporation – the trio of groups behind filing the proposal.

The groups highlighted the alleged failure by contrasting Coke’s actions with those of other manufacturers, such as Eden Foods which has used BPA-free cans since 1999. It also pointed to the announcement by General Mills that it will offer BPA-free linings in its organic canned tomatoes. BPA is not used in Coca-Cola’s plastic bottles."