EFSA has launched consultations on its draft opinion on the identification and prioritization for risk assessment of plasticizers used in food contact materials and on its draft protocol for the assessment of exposure of priority substances.

The consultations will last 6 weeks and all interested parties are encouraged to contribute.

The two consultations respond to a request from the European Commission to EFSA to carry out preparatory work for the reassessment of the risks to public health linked to the presence of plasticizers such as phthalates, structurally similar substances and alternatives in materials in contact with food (FCM).

For the draft opinion on the identification and prioritization of plasticizers, the EFSA Scientific Panel on Materials in Contact with Food, Enzymes and Processing Aids (CEP) took into account the data provided by the European Commission, European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and EU Member States.

Only substances authorized for FCMs at EU or national level have been given priority. The prioritization was based on when the substances underwent the last risk assessment as MCF, those assessed before 2001 were placed in the high priority group, those assessed between 2001 and 2011 in the medium priority group, and those assessed before 2001 were placed in the high priority group. assessed after 2011 in the low priority group.

The second consultation on the draft protocol defines the approach that EFSA intends to use to collect and select data and to analyze and integrate evidence for the exposure assessment of priority substances.

EFSA carried out the work on these two outcome projects in close collaboration with ECHA, piloting the ‘One substance, one assessment’ approach within the framework of the EC Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS).

Interested parties are invited to submit their comments on the draft opinion and on the draft protocol via the dedicated consultation pages. The deadline for comments is 12/16/2021.