April 2018

The China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA) issued three proposals to seek public comments on approving one new food additive and expanding the usage scopes for a total of five food additives that are currently permitted for use in China. These Proposals were issued on 10 April...

On 20 April 2018, the Oeko Institut announced a new consultation aimed at collecting information on seven substances which are to be assessed for possible inclusion in Annex II of the EU’s regulation on the restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS) in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). The consultation runs through...

On 12 April 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a press release of the availability of a new “Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Substance Inventory.” The inventory is one of a kind, and reflects the new requirements under the amended law, i.e. active designations. Inactive designations will...

On April 18th, I will have the pleasure of co-chairing a panel at the 2018 EHSQ Alliance Industry Conferenc e in Austin, Texas with my dear colleague Kristen Duda, VP of Strategic Alliances at Intelex. The title of the panel will be “Customer + Partner Panel.” In this session, EHSQ...

On 28 March 2018, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) of a proposed Gulf Cooperation Council for the Arab States (GCC) Technical Regulation restricting the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (commonly referred...

The Ministry of Health and Welfare of Taiwan issued the Amendments of the Regulations on Nutrition Labeling for Prepackaged Food Products (修正「包裝食品營養標示應遵行事項」) (the Amendments) on 31 March 2018. The Amendments revise various requirements for nutrition labels for prepackaged food products and became effective immediately. Verisk 3E Review Compared to the...

A California court reportedly proposed a ruling on 28 March 2018 that coffee companies operating in California, including Starbucks, Peet's Coffee & Tea, and Seattle's Best, among others, must provide cancer warnings related to the consumption of coffee, baked goods, and other products sold in those stores. The substance at...

A big deadline is approaching in Canada -- Full compliance with WHMIS 2015 is expected by 1 December 2018 across all Canadian jurisdictions. On 28 March 2018, Health Canada emailed two fact sheets addressing compliance with the Hazardous Products Regulations , otherwise known as WHMIS 2015. The fact sheets published...