Working with our collaborators at Baylor University, UC Davis and the U.S. Forest Products Laboratory we developed and published a biologically relevant gastrointestinal testing strategy to evaluate the safety of surface-functionalized cellulose materials following oral exposure, based on guidance from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

PFAS compounds are ubiquitous in the environment including in humans, and while known to be very persistent, mobile and toxic, while also have long been used in firefighting foam, cosmetics, food packaging and non-stick coatings.

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.

A Swedish packaging manufacturer, Arta Plast, has engineered a new renewable paperboard cup for dairy products and other chilled products from a material called Cupforma Natura (TM), by Stora Enso.

Advances in material science, including nanotechnologies, are offering enhanced food packaging solutions.