The IAFNS Packaging Safety & Sustainability committee works to expand scientific knowledge on toxicology, exposure and risk assessment of food packaging substances and potential contaminants. The committee also works to identify and resolve barriers to adoption of safe, recycled packaging in support of a more sustainable food supply.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Abbott Nutrition
Conagra Brands
General Mills, Inc.
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ACADEMIC ADVISORS
Keith Vorst, PhD, Iowa State University
Kay Cooksey, PhD, Clemson University
GOVERNMENT ADVISORS
Sean Fischer, PhD, FDA CFSAN
Kevin D. Smith, US Marine Corps (ret)
Research projects:
Despite significant advances in recycling science there remain hurdles to the broad utilization of recycled plastics including the availability of reliable and predictable sources of safe post-consumer material. This project will generate an in-depth survey of the plastic recycling landscape and identify safety issues and potential solutions to enable wide-scale production and adoption of recycled plastic. The project will leverage current frameworks for PET recovery and recycling to identify gaps and solutions for olefin recovery, recycling, and safety for food and beverage packaging. Results will also identify restricted and non-intentional added substances in recycled plastic along with mitigation options, and survey domestic and international recycling requirements such as certification rules and regulations pertaining to “clean” recycled plastic.
Conferences & Symposiums:
Roundtable on Sustainable Food Packaging
February 22, 2023, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
The Food Packaging Safety and Sustainability committee is hosting a virtual roundtable on sustainable food packaging. This event will bring together stakeholders and technical experts from food companies, retailers, packaging manufacturers, academic institutions, and government regulators to share sustainability initiatives and goals. The expected outcome is to identify and prioritize areas where IAFNS supported science can drive progress in meeting sustainability goals.
To learn more about this invitation-only event, please email science@iafns.org.
Projects Supported by the Committee:
Publications
Oldest to Newest
Identification and Quantitation Studies of Migrants from BPA Alternative Food-Contact Metal Can Coatings
Polymers, 2020
Risk Assessment of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Food: Symposium Proceedings
Trends in Food Science & Technology, 2021
IAFNS organized a two-session symposium titled Identifying Science Gaps for Risk Assessment of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Food.
Machine-Learning-Based Predictions of Polymer and Postconsumer Recycled Polymer Properties: A Comprehensive Review
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 2022
Machine learning (ML) algorithms are gaining attention as cost-effective scalable solutions to exploit the physical and chemical structures of polymers. The basic steps for applying ML in polymer science such as fingerprinting, algorithms, open-source databases, representations, and polymer design are outlined in this review.
Expanding Plastics Recycling Technologies: Chemical Aspects, Technology Status and Challenges
Green Chemistry, 2022
Chemists and chemical engineers need to understand the fundamentals of emerging technologies to design improved systems for chemical recycling and upcycling of waste plastics given that less than 10 percent of plastics globally are recycled.
Chemicals in Food Packaging: A Review of Phthalates and Bisphenols
Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, 2023
Phthalates and bisphenol chemicals have been widely used globally in packaging materials and consumer products for several decades. These highly functional chemicals have become a concern due to their toxicity (i.e., endocrine modulators) and ability to migrate from food contact materials into food matrices and the environment resulting in human and environmental health risks.
Read more about Chemicals in Food Packaging: A Review of Phthalates and Bisphenols
Events
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