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Agenda

 
A Half day pre-conference workshop run by Steptoe LLP

Extended Producer Responsibility Basics: A Review and Analysis of Obligations for the Regulated Industry in the EU, UK, and USA.
Workshop details
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws for packaging are growing increasingly popular amongst policymakers as a perceived solution to better manage the lifecycle of consumer product packaging.  This workshop will begin with an overview of how EPR laws for packaging work, and how key differences amongst EPR laws can impact compliance obligations for different parties in the packaging value chain.  The workshop also will provide an in-depth overview of packaging EPR laws in the USA, including the laws already adopted in California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, and Oregon.  Next, the workshop will cover existing EU producer responsibilities relating to packaging, exploring challenges and lessons learned from the implementation of the current systems.  The interactive workshop will conclude with a session on the latest developments and future outlook for EPR in both the EU and UK.

Workshop Registration
Introduction to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Laws for Packaging and Update on Developments in USA
Refreshment Break
Producer Responsibility Obligations in the EU: How We Got Here, What We’ve Learned, and How to Comply
The Future of EPR in Europe: Recent Developments, and What is Still to Come
Q & A Session
End of workshop
Registration and welcome refreshments
Smithers welcome
Chair’s welcome
Session 1: Current and future regulatory considerations for the FCM industry
An update on UK food contact material legislation for plastics and paper
  • latest legislation
  • updates on the FCM issues that are progressing through the FSA/FSS Risk Analysis process

Timothy Chandler | Senior Policy Advisor – Food Contact Materials, Food Standards Agency
Recent developments in the EFSA assessment of food contact materials
  • The process of EFSA safety assessment of FCM – including the production of opinions that are considered by decision makers to authorise the use of FCM.
  • Recent developments of particular relevance, e.g. the renewed EFSA Guidance for PET recycling processes and the principles on the safety assessment for FCM of natural origin.

Daniele Comandella | Scientific Officer, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
Networking refreshment break
Session 2: PFAS - evaluating end user responsibility and alternative material considerations
Exploring alternatives to PFAS
Session 3: Extending food contact regulations to other materials
How to expand food contact regulation to other materials than plastics

•              Current FC regulations and drawback
•              Introduction of OSOA principle in future FC regulation
•              Focus on migrating substances
•              Tiered approach for new regulatory approach
•              Need of data protection to foster innovation in FC regulation
•              Balance between industry self-assessment and official approval by authorities
•              How to deal with critical cases such as higher hazard or higher exposure
•              Need to establish an innovative approval approach
 
Dr. Martin Klatt | Executive Specialist Regulatory Affairs, Head of Product Stewardship Dispersions and Resins Europe, BASF
Materials in contact with drinking water
Networking lunch break
Minerals in food contact applications: benefits and challenges
 
  • Minerals are used in the production of paper and board, both as fillers within the sheet and in the coating layers, in conjunction with binders and additives. They are integral to the structure of the paper and board providing specific and necessary characteristics and  properties. 
  • As fillers, minerals  are also commonly added into inks where they can lower the cost but also modify the rheology, the opacity, transparency and the print quality.
  • Many minerals are listed in the positive lists of substances or additives allowed in food applications, and  their use can represent a good alternative to restricted or harmful substances.
  • Within the regulatory framework of nanomaterials in Europe, testing activities and risk assessments may be required to improve our understanding of the effects of materials with nanoscale features on human health and the environment. In this respect, important considerations should be made on the natural presence of nanoscale content within minerals.
Jason Ermini, Product Stewardship Manager, Artemyn 
Janet Preston, Senior Scientist, Artemyn
Non harmonized regulations for food contact rubber materials - a challenge
High performance rubber seals are urgently needed for safe, efficient and sustainable industrial food production. Rubber food contact materials are in scope of Regulation (EC) 1935/2004, but there is no specific EU harmonized regulation for these materials. Some EU member states have national regulations for rubber in food contact, however there is no common understanding regarding approved raw materials, migration testing and NIAS assessment. This challenge will be presented from the perspective of a producer of rubber FCM.
 
Dr. Petra Hilt | Global Manager Compliance Food Contact Materials, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions
The latest updates to the EU 10/2011 plastic regulation, focusing on the newly introduced requirements for a "high degree of purity" , from an analytical point of view
An in-depth presentation on the latest updates to the EU plastic regulation, with a special focus on the analytical requirements for achieving a "high degree of purity" in substances used in manufacturing plastic materials intended for food contact. In March 2024, the EC published the draft 18th amendment to Regulation EU No 10/2011, introducing stringent new standards for starting materials and intermediates and includes substances of natural origin or from waste.
This presentation will explore how suppliers can meet these requirements through advanced analytical techniques, including impurity profiling and sophisticated screening methods. We'll highlight the analytical approach to identifying minor amounts of contaminants and non-intentionally added substances, risk assessment, and ensuring compliance.
Discover the synergies and challenges between different analytical techniques, representative exposure calculations, and toxicological assessments. This session will give more understanding on the regulatory changes and their analytical implications for the entire supply chain.
 
Inge van Schöll | Senior Project Manager and Scientific Expert, Food-Contact Material team, Triskelion
Networking refreshment break
Session 4: Supply chain communication and FCM compliance
Ensuring Consumer Safety in Fibre-Based Packaging: Navigating Safety and Compliance for Food Contact applications
Navigating a global Packaging Company through shifting regulatory Landscapes
Constantia Flexibles uses a wide variety of different raw materials, such as plastics, paper, aluminum, inks, adhesives and coatings for producing flexible food packaging, necessitating compliance with numerous food packaging related regulations. Keeping up with evolving regulations (e.g. ban on BPA and PFAS, German Ink Ordinance, etc) is a constant challenge. Having the possibility to analyse the used raw materials and packaging materials regarding migration and composition in a well-equipped in-house laboratory allows Constantia Flexibles reducing reliance on external labs and improving consistency in testing results.
 
Beate Ganster-Ipp | Group Coordination Regulatory Affairs, Constantia Flexibles
Components or finished product: is there a best case for FCM&A testing approach? FCM&A regulations applying to complex machinery such as appliances
The compliance regulatory framework requires the manufacturers of Coffee Machine to consider pros and cons of proposed approaches to comply with applicable regulations (e.g. FCM&A relevant regulations material by material vs testing for the finished product) as well as possible local legislation, worldwide legislation, different clients approaches, specific suppliers know how and best practices. The challenge for a manufacture of coffee machine is to set up a consistent and robust approach for FCM&A compliance, taking into consideration all these possible aspects but maintaining at the same time the compliance with the FCM&A regulatory framework that is in continuous evolution.
 
Eleonora Furlanetto | Food Contact Materials Compliance Specialist, De'Longhi Appliances s.r.l.
Chair’s summary
FoodChain ID User Meeting "FCID Update on Packaging Certification and Supply Chain Challenges"
Networking drinks reception sponsored by Steptoe LLP
Registration and welcome refreshments
Chair’s welcome
Session 5: Recycled materials in contact with food and what PPWR means for FCM
Brand perspective: EU 2022/1616 on recycled plastics for food contact: 2 years down the road
  • Brand owner experiences since the adoption of the new regulation
  • Insights and lessons learned from the new approach
  • Connecting the dots with EFSA's updated guidance on mechanical PET recycling

Koen Weel | Scientific & Regulatory Affairs Director, Food Contact Materials, Coca-Cola Europe
Closing the loop on contact-sensitive applications in rPP
Why is compostability a good sustainable choice for FCM?
 
  • Compostability – what is it? insights and updates on testing and standards
  • Home compostability versus Industrial compostability
  • Compostability of single-use food contact applications (data & consumer insight)
  • Insights on relevant legislation and certification systems, and identification of the specific instances where testing the compostability of FCM is meaningful

Gaëlle Cavalié | Technical Sales Engineer, Normec OWS
PPWR updates and what this means for FCM
Networking refreshment break
Our effort on functional barrier as a recycling novel technologies and the activities involved
Challenges in recycling of plastics: a safety assessment perspective

Safety assessment of recycling processes for plastic: The important role of DNA-reactive mutagens in EFSA’s safety assessment according to the Threshold of Toxicological Concern
  • Identification of risk factors for contaminations with highly critical DNA-reactive mutagens and strategies to avoid such contaminants
  • Results from analyzing >200 recycled PET, PE, PP and PS samples for critical contaminants

Christian Kirchnawy | Team Leader, OFI – Austrian Research Institute
Session 6: Toxicology and NIAS
Demonstrating the safety of non-harmonised FCM’s

•              Accepting that nothing is 100% safe
•              How do you demonstrate safety in a vacuum?
•              Difficulties with non-harmonised FCMs
•              Tools and publications which can be utilized
•              Attempting to harmonise risk assessment and risk management approaches.
 
Peter Oldring | Regulatory Affairs Manager - Europe, The Sherwin-Williams Company
Networking lunch break
Toxicological studies for non-intentionally added substances (NIAS)
 
  • Introduction to NIAS and tox testing
  • Procedures for risk assessment of non-assessed substances e.g. EFSA, ILSI
  • In-silico studies

Dr. Malcolm Driffield | Managing Scientist, Chemical Regulation & Food Safety, Exponent International
Session 7: Testing and analytics
FCA Risk Assessment Guidelines
Novel simulants for measuring migration from paper and board
Session 8: Future outlook – Ai and machine learning focus
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: Catching the Wave
  • What is AI/ML and what does it mean for the future?
  • What are the cautions of using AI/ML?
  • How can I use AI/ML to do my job more effectively?
  • What is prompt engineering and what are examples of good prompts

Kevin C. Kenny | Senior Advisor, FoodChain ID
Chair’s summary and end of conference
P-P-agenda-2024-27-11-24