On 28 August, U.S. Committee on Energy and Commerce came up with HR 6269 - the Ban Poisonous Additives Act of 2016 for purposes of applying section 402(a)(6) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 342(a)(6)). The bill would ban a food container that is composed, in whole or in part, of bisphenol A, or that can release bisphenol A into food. It would apply to reusable food containers, as well as any food container packed with food and destined for interstate c ...

Californian Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) lists furfuryl alcohol (CAS No. 98-00-0) to the list of chemicals known to the state to cause cancer for purposes of Proposition 65 on 30 Sept. 2016. The information for furfuryl alcohol (CAS No. 98-00-0) is as below: Chemical CAS No. Endpoint Listing Mechanism Furfuryl alcohol 98-00-0 Cancer AB (EPA) C&K Testing reminds that businesses shall perform obligations if the furfuryl alcohol is listed under t ...

On 5 Oct. 2016, Canada amends the regulation of five toxic substances in Canadian Environmental Protection Act through a publication of a notification on the Canada Gazette. The amendments include the following: 1. HBCD in EPS and XPS. The amendments prohibit the manufacture, use, sale, offer for sale or import of expanded polystyrene (EPS) and extruded polystyrene (XPS) foams containing HBCD – and intermediary products that contain it – for use in a building or construc ...

General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China (AQSIQ) randomly inspects product quality from May to August 2016 covering general merchandise, textiles, electrical and electronic equipment, construction and décor materials, agricultural means of production, machinery and safety protection, electrical engineering and materials. Upon inspection, 214 out of 2160 batches from 2148 companies are not compliant. The detai ...

The Danish Environmental Protection Agency (DEPA) has commissioned Oeko-Institut e.V and COWI AS to perform a preliminary review of a possible restriction of a group of substances (Small brominated alkyl alcohols, SBAA) under the RoHS Directive. A six week stakeholder consultation has been launched today to collect further input. The consultation period opens from 23 Sept. 2016 to 4 Nov. 2016. The group of substances is defined as small brominated linear and branched alkyl a ...

On 16 Sept. 2016, the European Commission published amendment draft of Annex XIV under REACH Regulation. Twelve substances for authorisation were proposed to include. The draft is open for opinions from 16 Sept. 2016 to 14 Oct. 2016. The details for the new substances to be included in Annex XIV are as below: Entry Nr Substance Intrinsic property(ies) referred to in Article 57 Transitional arrangements Latest application date Sunset date 32 1-Bromopropane (n-propyl bromide) ...

On 21 Sept. 2016, the European Commission amended skin sensitisation testing provisions under Annex VII to REACH Regulation by releasing Regulation (EU) 2016/1688. In recent years, great progress has been made in alternatives tests to avoid animal testing or reducing repetition of already performed tests. The amendments focus on point 8.3 of the annex, and stipulate skin sensitisation studies do not need to be carried out if the substance is: l classified as skin corrosion ( ...

There are 93 batches non-compliant industrial products as notified by Supervision Office under General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China (AQSIQ). 58 of 93 batches are textile products primarily resulting from colour fastness and safety category labels. The details for non-compliance of imported textiles in Aug.: Category Identification & Labels Safety & Hygiene Other Reason for non-compliance Lack of sa ...

A committee working under the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) is considering a new regulatory framework for food contact materials (FCMs) in Japan, including a positive list system. FCMs are currently regulated under the Food Sanitation Act and the system is based on a negative list. This means that substances listed are banned or restricted for use in FCMs in Japan. But the list does not control substances that are banned in other jurisdictions. Systems in the ...

On 19 Sept. 2016, Nansha Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau (Guangzhou, P.R. China) found dangerous levels of heavy metals and evaporities present in food contact products such as woks, frying pans and stockpots imported from South Korea. Inspection and Quarantine Authorities returned the non-compliant products in accordance with stipulations ofImplementation Rules on Law of Commodity Inspection of the P.R. China. There are 8,900 food contact products (8 models) imp ...