Minutes of the FCMJEG 29th May 2024 meeting
Minutes of the Meeting of the FCM JEG at 10:00 on 29th May 2024 online via MS Teams
Public Minutes
Present
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Chair: |
Dr Natalia Falagán |
|
JEG Members: |
Dr Stuart Adams Dr Emma Bradley Dr Gill Clare Dr Sibylle Ermler Dr Michael Walker Dr Jenny Odum |
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Food Standards Agency (FSA) Secretariat: |
Dr Barbara Doerr Ms Jocelyn Frimpong-Manso - FSA Scientific Secretary Ms Cleanncy Hoppie Ms Frederique Marie Uy Ms Azuka Aghadiuno Dr Rachel Kerr |
|
FSA and other Officials: |
Mr Timothy Chandler Mr Adam Hardgrave Mr Vincent Greenwood Mr Allan Shivembe Mr Ian Smith Mr Michael Dickinson Kaila Lee |
Contents
|
Item |
Topic |
Paragraph |
|
|
Interests |
1 |
|
1 |
Welcome and apologies |
2 |
|
2 |
Matters Arising
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3-6 |
|
3 |
Minutes of the last meeting – 10th April 2024 RP1190 SML discussion meeting 22nd April 2024 |
7-8 |
|
4 |
RP1702 SML discussion |
9 |
|
5 |
Review of the first draft safety advice document for a recycling process (RP1741) |
10-12 |
|
6 |
Review of the COT Annex Document
|
13-16 |
|
7 |
Any Other Business (AOB)
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17-18 19-21 22-25 |
|
8 |
Date of next meeting |
26 |
Interests
1. The Chair reminded those attending the meeting to declare any commercial or other interests they might have in any of the agenda items. It is necessary to declare interests, as per the Code of Practice for Scientific Advisory Committees and Councils (CoPSAC, 2021). Members should ask themselves whether the public would reasonably consider that the interest in question might influence them (and thus their perceived independence).
Item 1: Welcome and Apologies
2. The Chair welcomed all attendees to the meeting.
Item 2: Matters arising
3. The dossier update table with the overall progress of all FCM dossiers was presented to the FCMJEG Members. A more detailed update on the following dossiers/applications were given by the Secretariat: RP1642, RP1702, RP1862, RP1741, RP2147, RP1190, RP45 and RP94.
4. Members were informed that RP1702 would be presented at the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) meeting in July.
5. Members were informed that the assessment of TMBPF-DGE had been signed off by COT subject to a final comment from the COT Chair.
Item 3: minutes of the last meeting – April 2024
6. The FCMJEG requested minor editorial changes and suggested the use of subheadings to make it clearer which dossier is being discussed.
7. The Secretariat agreed to re-circulate the minutes for review once the required editorials had been carried out.
RP1190
8. The members requested the minutes from a discussion held on the 22nd April 2024 be included or linked in the minutes. These minutes can be found here.
Item 4: RP1702 SML discussion
9. Members were asked to discuss the specific migration limit for calcium tert-butylphosphonate. The migration of the substance in all food simulants were close to or below the limit of detection (up to 10 μg/kg). The toxicology tests were in accordance with a SML close to or below the limit of detection (10 μg/kg) and showed no cause for concern in the toxicological studies. Therefore, the FCMJEG agreed that the detection limit of 10 μg/kg is appropriate to set as a default SML for calcium tert-butylphosphonate.
Item 5: Review of the first draft safety advice document for the recycling process (RP1741)
10. The group discussed areas of the dossier including: the challenge test and supplementary data supplied by the applicant. Minor edits were suggested throughout the document and the FCMJEG requested that consistent explanations and definitions be used across the PET recycling dossiers.
11. The FCMJEG requested that the applicant provide some clarification on the figures that they have provided.
12. It is noted that paragraph that some of the data provided by the applicant is supplementary to what is required.
Item 6: Review of the COT Annex Documents
13. Following the recent discussion of a recycling dossier at the COT, COT Members and the Secretariat noted that it could be useful to provide additional information at the meeting on the data requirements for FCM dossiers.
14. The Secretariat has drafted two documents with the intention of attaching them as Annexes to any FCM dossier going to the COT. The Annexes outline the Regulation and legislative status of either plastic additives or recycling processes and include details on the data requirements, e.g. level of toxicological testing, and acceptable methods. The documents are for internal use only and are currently treated as confidential.
15. Members discussed the two Annexes and noted that it would be helpful to explain how the applied exposure of 1kg/6 dm2 was derived and to provide definitions of the threshold of toxicological concern and Cramer Classes. Members also asked for clarification and amendment in the text regarding the use of off cuts in recycling systems, when derived from a closed loop system.
16. Overall, Members found the Annexes comprehensive and detailed. Editorials highlighted in the text prior or at the meeting will be addressed by the Secretariat and the documents circulated to Members for final sign off.
Item 7: Any Other Business
RP2147 Request For Information
17. The FCMJEG discussed the questions drafted for the request for information (RFI), which is to be sent to the Applicant. The group suggested minor editorial changes and a rewording of the final question on the toxicology testing.
18. The FCMJEG discussed the need for clarification from both the Applicant and Secretariat regarding the product that is being assessed.
Position paper OBP
19. Following discussion of the “Position Paper by the Joint Expert Group on Food Contact Materials (FCMJEG): Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP)” at the March 2024 COT meeting, the JEG Secretariat received an enquiry from one of the producers of OBP/respondents to the call for evidence. The respondent noted that it was unclear from the document, whether the statement was on OBP from PET only, or included all OBP (PE, PP, PVC etc).
20. The majority of the information provided by the respondents as well as information from the literature focuses on PET. Hence, while not explicitly stated, Members consider the statement to focus on PET only. There is insufficient information currently available to focus on other plastics and the data does not allow for read-across.
21. The Secretariat will update the statement and it will be circulated to the FCMJEG for sign off.
Toxicology training for members
22. The FCMJEG discussed the possibility of members who are experts in the field of toxicology providing training for the rest of the group. The group discussed the content which they thought would be useful and noted that the format is still to be decided. Overall, the group thought that this training would be valuable.
23. The group suggested that training topics should include: the three tiers of toxicology testing, what tests should be considered in assessments, what are the possible outcomes of the tests and what the outputs should look like for the testing to be considered satisfactory.
24. It is noted that there are training materials available from the British toxicology society.
25. The toxicologists of the group volunteered to provide training.
Date of next meeting
26. The next meeting will be on the 3rd July 2024