The Society of Toxicology is pleased to announce the next colloquium presented in conjunction with the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), “Safety Assessment of Food Packaging and Other Food Contact Substances”  will be May 23, 2017, from 8:30 AM-1:00 PM in Wiley Auditorium on the CFSAN campus in College Park, Maryland. The series presents scientific information that is high-quality, cutting-edge, future-oriented toxicological science to provide a well-grounded foundation to inform the work of FDA employees.

Open to the public to attend in person or via webcast, these events are not a public forum for discussion of toxicology regulatory issues. The colloquium is open to the public to attend in person or via webcast. 

We welcome participation from our colleagues and hope that you will announce this meeting on our behalf.

A large majority of the public thinks of food safety primarily in terms of either the food or food additives shown on the labels in which they are packaged. However, materials that come in contact with food are also subject to regulation as food additives because the components of these packaging and contact materials may migrate into the food. As the distribution and product protection of food has expanded over a period of decades, highly engineered packaging has evolved to protect foods from contamination and spoilage. In this colloquium, we will focus on the various types of packaging (e.g., coatings, plastics/polymer), manufacturing processes, and safety and exposure assessments.

The first presentation will focus on the regulatory science framework for assessing the safety of food packaging materials and how it is evolving.  The second presentation will focus on the materials in key packaging types, such as the plastics and polymers used in bottles, and how they are made and processed. The third presentation will discuss safety considerations and communication. The fourth presentation will focus on migration estimates, i.e., the transfer of chemicals from packaging to the food and estimating dietary exposure. The fifth presentation will discuss the latest innovations and materials used in food packaging.

Registration:   Colloquia website

Presentations include:

• US FDA Welcome and Overview of Regulatory Science

Michael Adams, US FDA, College Park, MD

• Overview of Key Food Packaging

Steven Hentges, American Chemistry Council, Washington, DC

• Can Coatings Primer and Safety Assessment: Communicating Evidence of Absence

     Mark Maier, Sheperian Toxicology, Albuquerque, NM

• Migration and Exposure Considerations

Jessica Cooper, US FDA, College Park, MD

• Packaging Innovations to Improve Food Safety

Maria Rubino, Michigan State University School of Packaging, East Lansing, MI

The event will conclude with a roundtable discussion moderated by colloquium chair, Charles Barton, the speakers and invited speakers from California EPA and Health Canada. Questions from the audience on-site and from those participating in the webcast are encouraged. Jason Aungst, US FDA, is the co-chair of this colloquium.

In addition, the recording and materials from the previous sessions as well as additional information can be accessed at the Colloquia website. Questions? Contact Marguerite Leishman at SOT marguerite@toxicology.org, 703.438.3115.