A vision for safer food contact materials: Public health concerns as drivers for improved testing

• DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.108161
• Publication Date: 2023-09-26T00:35:20Z
• Authors: Jane Muncke; Anna-Maria Andersson; Thomas Backhaus; Scott M. Belcher; Justin M. Boucher; Bethanie Carney A...; Terrence J. Collins; Birgit Geueke; Ksenia J. Groh; Jerrold J. Heindel; Frank A. von Hippel; Juliette Legler; Maricel V. Maffini; Olwenn V. Martin; John Peterson Myers; Angel Nadal; Cristina Nerin; Ana M. Soto; Leonardo Trasande; Laura N. Vandenberg; Martin Wagner; Lisa Zimmermann; R. Thomas Zoeller; Martin Scheringer
• Keywords: Food contact materials; SAFER

Food contact materials (FCMs) and food articles are ubiquitous in today's globalized system. Chemicals migrate from FCMs into foodstuffs, so called chemicals (FCCs), but current regulatory requirements do not sufficiently protect public health hazardous FCCs because only individual substances used to make tested mostly for genotoxicity while endocrine disruption other hazard properties disregarded. Indeed, a known source of wide range chemicals, they likely contribute highly prevalent non-communicable diseases. can also include non-intentionally added (NIAS), which often unknown therefore subject risk assessment. To address these important shortcomings, we outline how the safety may be improved by (1) testing overall migrate, including (unknown) NIAS, finished articles, (2) expanding toxicological beyond multiple endpoints associated with diseases relevant human health. identify mechanistic testing, group chronic outcomes chemical exposure Six Clusters Disease (SCOD) propose that should their impacts on SCOD. Research focus developing robust, relevant, sensitive in-vitro assays based information linked SCOD, e.g., through Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs) or Key Characteristics Toxicants. Implementing this vision will improve prevention exposures, FCMs.