Non-food legislation – May 2026

Hazardous substances – Rules and regulations
In recently published Q&A, an Intertek expert highlights the critical implications of PFAS, the evolving regulatory landscape and innovative analytical techniques for detecting and monitoring PFAS in a variety of materials. You can download the Q&A after filling in your details. In an article published in Environmental Science & Technology, Brij Mohan Sharma of Masaryk University and ETH Zürich and co-authors discuss the global disparities in the regulation of PFAS.
EU: At a European Parliament meeting on 27 April 2026, environment Commissioner Jessica Roswall told the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety (ENVI) that the long-delayed revision of the REACH Regulation would not go ahead.
ECHA has published the presentations of a webinar held on 7 May 2026 on the PFAS restriction proposal. The proposal was submitted by five countries (Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway and Sweden) in January 2023.
ECHA has announced a new release of the IUCLID software. On 12 May 2026, ECHA hosted a webinar on the update. You can find the presentations and Q&A here.
Turkey: SGS reports that Turkey has notified the WTO of draft regulations on bisphenol A (BPA) and other hazardous bisphenols and bisphenol derivatives in certain FCMs.
US: Minnesota: SGS reports that the MCPA is extending the reporting due date for PFAS in products by two and a half months to 15 September 2026. The MPCA has updated its website to assist manufacturers with the reporting.

Revision of EU tobacco control framework
The EC has launched a consultation on the revision of the EU tobacco control framework that sets out the EU rules on manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products, as well as their advertising and sponsorship. Among other things, the revision aims to strengthen the current rules on labelling and packaging, including plain packaging.

Research on exposure to plastics
A new report (1.78 MB) funded by the Plastic Soup Foundation and The Flotilla Foundation highlights the vast scale of microplastic exposure in daily life from overlooked and emerging sources. The report draws on over 350 peer-reviewed studies and concludes that human exposure is continuous and global.
There is considerable evidence that microplastics and nanoplastics are present in the livers of humans and animals on land and in the ocean. Now researchers at the University of Plymouth are investigating whether the presence of these particles in the liver is driving disease and directly contributing to the soaring global rates of liver disease.
Exposure to DEHP, a chemical commonly used to make plastic more flexible, may have contributed to about 1.97 million preterm births in 2018 alone, or more than 8% of the world’s total, a new analysis led by NYU Langone Health shows. DEHP was also linked to the deaths of 74,000 newborns, the researchers further estimate.
Research by the University of Western Australia shows that by minimising plastic touchpoints including food processing materials, food packaging and kitchenware, the levels of plastic chemicals in the human body could be reduced in seven days.

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