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Food Contact Materials

The Panel on Food Contact Materials (FCM)* evaluates the safety of chemical substances used in food packaging and within materials to be in contact with food (such as plastics, active and intelligent materials and other material types). The Panel also assesses the safety of processes to recycle plastic and its use in the production of food contact materials (FCMs). The Panel's work mainly concerns substances and processes evaluated by EFSA before their use can be authorised in the EU.

FCM Panel Members are scientists from across Europe with expertise in:

  • Chemical risk assessment focusing on chemicals used in the production of plastic materials or other food packaging
  • Toxicology (mammalian): sub-chronic and chronic toxicity (repeated dose studies), genotoxicity and mutagenicity, developmental and reproductive toxicity, carcinogenicity, allergenicity and immunotoxicity
  • Toxicity testing in experimental animals and alternative toxicity tests
  • Toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics (ADME - absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion) of substances
  • Epidemiology (humans)
  • Chemistry (organic, analytical and synthetic chemistry), especially for the chemical identification and specification of chemical substances and for migration testing of food contact materials
  • Exposure assessment and consumption surveys
  • Food technology (manufacturing processes and use of processing aids)

*The FCM Panel continues the work in some areas previously covered by the former Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes and Processing Aids (CEP), but has handed over responsibility for the evaluation of enzymes to the FEZ Panel. In addition, depending on the specific expertise required for the substance(s) in question, the safety assessment of some processing aids will be allocated to the FCM Panel, while other processing aids will be assessed by the FEZ Panel.

Panel composition before 2018
2018-2024

Panel composition and Declarations of Interests

2017-2028

Chair: Vittorio Silano
Vice-Chair: Karl-Heinz Engel; Detlef Wölfle
Members: Claudia Bolognesi; Laurence Castle; Kevin Chipman; Jean-Pierre Cravedi; Paul Fowler; Roland Franz; Konrad Grob; Rainer Gürtler; Trine Husøy; Sirpa Kärenlampi; Wim Mennes; Maria Rosaria Milana; Karla Pfaff; Gilles Riviere; Jannavi Srinivasan; Maria de Fatima Tavares Poças; Christina Tlustos; Holger Zorn

2014-2017

Chair: Silano Vittorio
Vice-Chair: Mennes Wim; Wölfle Detlef
Members: Bolognesi Claudia; Castle Laurence; Cravedi Jean-Pierre; Engel Karl-Heinz; Fowler Paul; Franz Roland; Grob Konrad; Gürtler Rainer; Husøy Trine; Kärenlampi Sirpa, July 2015; Milana Maria Rosaria; Penninks André; Smith Andrew; Tavares Poças Maria De Fatima; Tlustos Christina; Toldrá Fidel, until September 2015; Zorn Holger; Zugravu Corina-Aurelia, July 2015

2011-2014

Chair: Mennes Wim, a partir de abril de 2014; Pratt Iona, until February 2014 †
Vice-Chair: Castle Laurence, a partir de abril de 2014; Wölfle Detlef
Members: Beckman Sundh Ulla; Binderup Mona-Lise; Bolognesi Claudia; Brimer Leon; Di Domenico Alessandro; Engel Karl-Heinz; Franz Roland; Gontard Nathalie; Guertler Rainer; Husoy Trine; Jany Klaus-Dieter; Kolf-Clauw Martine; Milana Maria Rosaria; Svensson Kettil; Tavares Pocas Maria de Fatima; Toldra Fidel

2008-2011

Chair: Klaus-Dieter Jany
Vice-Chair: Karl-Heinz Engel; Wim Mennes
Members: Arturo Anadon; David Bell, hasta finales de noviembre de 2009; Mona-Lise Binderup; Wilfried Bursch; Laurence Castle; Riccardo Crebelli; Roland Franz; Nathalie Gontard; Thomas Haertle; Trine Husoy; Catherine Leclercq; Jean-Claude Lhuguenot; Maria Rosaria Milana; Karla Pfaff; Kettil Svensson; Fidel Toldra; Rosemary Waring; Detlef Wölfle

The Declarations of Interests and CVs of previous Panel members are available upon interestmanagement [at] efsa.europa.eu (request).

Meetings with Member States

Meetings with Member States bring together Panel experts, EFSA scientific staff and technical experts from Member States to discuss scientific issues and exchange views on various aspects of risk assessment related to food ingredients and packaging. Depending on the context, these meetings can be bilateral, involving experts from one Member State, or networking meetings, with experts from several Member States.

There follows a list of meetings between EFSA and Member States in the area of food ingredients and packaging.

2015

2014

2012

2011

Networks

What are EFSA's networks?

EFSA’s networks consist of nationally appointed EU Member State organisations with expertise in the fields covered by the network. Representatives of the Commission and of other organisations (including those from outside the EU) with specific expertise may also be invited to participate in the work of EFSA Networks.

Networks are chaired by EFSA and supported by relevant EFSA units. Their aim is to facilitate scientific cooperation in the field of EFSA’s mission by:

Scientific Network on Food Contact Materials (FCM)

The FCM Network is a platform for cooperation on risk assessment activities and approaches of mutual interest to EFSA and Member States. The Network enhances collaboration between scientists involved in risk assessment of food contact materials to support and harmonise risk assessment practices in this area. The FCM Network was initiated in October 2013 as a subgroup of the Food Ingredients and Packaging Network for a period of three years. To continue this cooperation, it was proposed to maintain the Network through a stand-alone FCM Network for a further three years.

Working groups

Extraction solvents

Food Contact Materials - CEP Panel

Preparation for re-evaluation of phthalates, structurally similar substances and replacement substances

Recycling Plastic - CEP Panel

WG on the evaluation of substances used to reduce microbial contamination from products of animal origin - CEP Panel

Closed working groups

Assessment of studies on BPS - CEP Panel

Meetings: minutes last updated:

Bisphenol A (BPA) Exposure 2012 - CEF Panel

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BPA assessment protocol

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BPA Immunotoxicity - CEF Panel

Meetings: minutes last updated:

BPA re-evaluation - CEP Panel

BPA Toxicology 2012 - CEF Panel

Meetings: minutes last updated:

Evaluation of substances used to reduce microbial contamination from products of animal origin (Standing WG) - CEF Panel

Meetings: minutes last updated:

Food contact material 2017-2018 - CEF Panel

Meetings: minutes last updated:

National experts meeting on BPA processing aids - CEF Panel

Meetings: minutes last updated:

Phthalates - CEF Panel

Meetings: minutes last updated:

Phthalates - CEP Panel

Meetings: minutes last updated:

Recycling plastics 2017-2018 - CEF Panel

Meetings: minutes last updated: