Minutes of the FCMJEG 3rd July 2024 meeting
Joint Expert Group on Food Contact Materials
Meeting of the FCM JEG at 10:00 on 3rd July 2024 online via MS Teams
Public Minutes
Present:
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Chair: |
Dr Natalia Falagán |
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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: |
Ms Jocelyn Frimpong-Manso - FSA Scientific Secretary Ms Cleanncy Hoppie Ms Frederique Marie Uy Ms Azuka Aghadiuno Dr Rachel Kerr Dr David Kovacic |
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FSA and other Officials: |
Mr Timothy Chandler Mr Adam Hardgrave Mr Vincent Greenwood Mr Allan Shivembe Mr Ian Smith Mr Michael Dickinson |
Contents
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Item |
Topic |
Paragraph |
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Interests |
1 |
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1 |
Welcome and apologies |
2 |
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2 |
Matters Arising
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3-6 |
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3 |
Minutes of the last meeting – 29th May 2024 |
7-8 |
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4 |
Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP) Updated Position Paper
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9-12 |
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5 |
Review of the first draft Committee Advice Document for a recycling process (RP1862) (Reserved) |
13-15 |
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6 |
Review of the first draft Committee Advice Document for a recycling process (RP1741) (Reserved) |
16-18 |
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7 |
Any Other Business
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19-22 |
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8 |
Date of next meeting |
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. Apologies were received from Dr Barbara Doerr and Ms Sabrina Thomas from the Secretariat.
Item 2: Matters arising
3. The dossier update table with the overall progress of all FCM dossiers was presented to the FCMJEG Members. More detailed updates on the following dossiers/applications were given by the Secretariat: RP1898, RP262, RP1415, and RP2147. The Secretariat further noted that an application for the authorisation of a plastic additive is currently undergoing suitability checks (RP2229).
4. Members were informed that RP53 and RP1702 would be presented at the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) meeting in July 2024. Members who wished to attend were requested to inform the Secretariat so that a meeting invitation may be shared.
5. Members were informed that the Food Standard Agency (FSA) / Food Standards Scotland (FSS) documents are being prepared for RP45 and RP94.
6. In terms of publication, RP1190 was due for publication on the 5th of July 2024. An “inconclusive opinion” document for RP1642 was also due to be published on the same date.
Item 3: Minutes of the last meeting – 29th May 2024
7. The FCMJEG requested minor editorial changes and suggested the use of subheadings to make it clearer which dossier is being discussed.
8. The Secretariat agreed to re-circulate the minutes for review once the required editorials had been carried out.
Item 4: Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP) Updated Position Paper
9. In May 2024, the FCMJEG Secretariat and FCM Policy Team attended a meeting initiated by an interested UK based company to discuss the latest FCM JEG position paper on Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP). The position paper was amended to reflect some of the discussion points and information shared during the internal meeting held in May 2024. The Secretariat kindly asked the Group to review the updated position paper. In addition, the Secretariat provided, to the best of their recollection, a summary of the discussion held during the May meeting with the UK based company.
10. To date, there is no internationally or widely accepted definition of OBP, the Secretariat purposed a definition on what was considered as OBP for the purpose of the assessment. The Group and Secretariat further discussed the definition of OBP, including any concerns regarding the definition, and agreed to expand on what is not considered OBP for the purpose of the assessment in the position paper. In addition, the annex to the position paper will provide a summary of some of the currently available definitions of OBP. According to some of the certification schemes on OBP, the plastic material must be “abandoned” and include only a small fraction of the commercially recyclable plastic waste. This could be incorporated into the position paper.
11. The Group agreed that no new evidence was presented that would make them reconsider their previous position and conclusion. However, it should be noted that the position paper is a “living document” and if new evidence becomes available, the Group will consider such evidence and decide whether it is appropriate to revise the safety assessment of the OBP accordingly. The Group further discussed what and how much data is needed for the safety assessment of the OBP.
12. Following the discussion on the position paper, the Group discussed the presentation provided by the UK based company. The EFSA opinions, quality of the input material, different regulations, contamination and degradation were discussed as part of the presentation. The Group suggested to formulate a set of research questions focusing on remaining data gaps/areas of concern, which includes available data from the literature, frequency of misuse and contamination of the plastic and what is needed for the assessment.
Item 5: Review of the first draft Committee Advice Document for a recycling process (RP1862) (Reserved)
13. The Group first reviewed the Application on their 23rd of August 2023 meeting. Following this, a Request for Further Information (RFI) was issued to the Applicant. The last substantive discussion of the Application took place at the 10th of April 2024 meeting, where it was concluded that a Committee Advice Document (CAD) should be drafted summarising all of the information provided by the Applicant, as well as the JEG’s discussion and conclusions – presented at this meeting.
14. The Group suggested minor editorial changes to the CAD.
15. The Secretariat will perform the requested changes and provide an updated draft for review by email correspondence in due course.
Item 6: Review of the first draft Committee Advice Document for a recycling process (RP1741) (Reserved)
16. The Group first reviewed the Application during their May 2023 meeting. Following this, a RFI was issued to the Applicant. The last substantive discussion of the Application took place on the 28th of February 2024 meeting, where it was concluded that a CAD would be drafted summarising all of the information provided by the Applicant, as well as the JEG’s discussion and conclusions – presented at this meeting.
17. The Group suggested minor editorial changes to the CAD.
18. The Secretariat will perform the requested changes and provide an updated draft for review by email correspondence in due course.
Item 7: Any Other Business
Potential site visit
19. The FSA Food Additives, Flavourings and Contact Materials Policy Team have been invited to attend a site visit by a recycler, taking on the 25th of September 2024. Members who wished to attend were requested to express their interest. Further information on the site visit will be circulated in due course following finalisation of plans.
Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) Recruitment
20. The Group were informed that due to restrictions on renewal of terms it was not possible for all Members of the current JEG to have extensions on their terms.
21. Thus, the Group were informed that the recruitment for new Members is in place with interviews being carried out in the later quarter of the year and appointments offered in the New Year.
Other
22. The Group were informed that a member of the Secretariat will be leaving the FSA, the Group wished them well in their future endeavours.
Item 8: Date of next meeting
23. The next meeting will be on the 28th of August 2024. This will be a virtual meeting held on Microsoft Teams.