The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced an extension to the comment period on the food additive petition proposing that the food additive regulations be amended to no longer authorize the use of styrene and six other listed synthetic flavoring food additives. The petition—submitted by James Huff, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and five other nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)—also requested that FDA establish a zero tolerance for the additives. The other flavoring food additives listed in the petition are: benzophenone, ethyl acrylate, eugenyl methyl ether, myrcene, pulegone, and pyridine.
The comment period has been extended from March 4, 2016, to May 3, 2016. FDA explained that it had received a request for a 60-day extension “to allow sufficient time to collect and provide data and information and develop a meaningful and thoughtful response to the assertions set forth in the petition.”
The Federal Register notice announcing the extension can be found here. For more information on the petition, see the PackagingLaw.com article, FDA Files Petition to Remove Clearance for Styrene and Other Synthetic Flavoring Substances.