California Proposes Expansion of Food Contact Articles Category Under its SCP Program

California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has published a draft 2024-2026 Priority Product Work Plan (Work Plan) under the state’s Safer Consumer Products Program (SCP). A significant addition to the draft 2024-2026 Work Plan is the revision and expansion of the Food Contact Articles product category to include all products that are “intended to be used with food” and “come in contact with a food product at any stage of its life cycle, including processing, packaging, preparation, cooking, serving, and transportation.” The category now includes items such as pots and pans, utensils, cutting boards, and coffee machines, in addition to food packaging.

DTSC evaluated PFASs, bisphenol A (BPA), ortho-phthalates, and styrene in food packaging during the 2018-2020 Work Plan cycle. (For background information on DTSC’s evaluation of those substances, see the Packaginglaw.com article, California Evaluates Food Packaging Under its Safer Consumer Products Program.)

Comments on the draft 2024-2026 Work Plan, which are due by July 1, 2024, can be submitted here.