Our latest roundup includes news about regulatory actions on nanomaterials, food additives, bisphenols and partially hydrogenated oils; new databases for exposure assessment data and regulatory information; company news from UBQ, Performance Biofilaments Inc., Conagen and Amyris, Inc.; and publication of notable papers on safety assessment and safe and sustainable by design (SSbD) approaches.

In a landmark decision, the EU Court of Justice ruled that 2017 decisions on carcinogenicity for TiO2  did not rely on valid evidence. The animal studies used were not relevant to humans and they failed to show an intrinsic cause of cancer. The court decision has implications for the EU ban of TiO2 in food.

Single-use plastics include items such as plastic bags, straws, water bottles, and many forms of food packaging and the European Commission’s Vice-President of the Executive Cabinet, Frans Timmerman, hinted that the EU may soon be banning them.

The Italian National Science Foundation (CNR) is conducting a foresighting effort to advance a Smart Grid for food.