Contact: Paula Weis
(202) 974-5282

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPI PANEL HOSTS GLOBAL CONFERENCE ON THREATS TO FOOD PACKAGING

(Washington, DC) - Regulatory officials and experts from around the world - including the United States, Canada, Europe, Latin America and Asia - discussed how global efforts to protect against bioterrorism and safeguard public health could potentially impact the food packaging industry at a recent conference in Washington, DC, sponsored in part by the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc.

The "International Conference on Worldwide Regulation of Food Packaging in the Era of the EU Super Regulation, BSE, GMOs and Potential Bioterrorism," held June 20-23, was sponsored by SPI's Food, Drug and Cosmetics Packaging Materials Committee (FDCPMC) and the Food Products Association (formerly the National Food Processors Association).

"Global markets are increasingly interconnected. Many in the packaging industry recognize that it is essential that their products can be readily used in most, if not all, countries," said SPI president Bill Carteaux. "At the same time, international regulations addressing public health and security are becoming more complex and harder to navigate. This conference is part of SPI's ongoing effort to help our members overcome these obstacles."

The conference program included a panel of European experts on Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and a special session on regulatory compliance in Asia and the Pacific Rim, featuring regulatory officials from China, Thailand, Japan, Korea and India.

Also addressing the conference were Dr. Luigi Rossi, principal administrator of the Health and Consumer Protection directorate of the European Commission, who discussed the EU's Super Regulation and its impacts on plastics, and Dr. Dimitrios Spyropoulos of the European Food Safety Authority, who talked about European regulations on various food-contact products.

Officials with FDA's Office of Food Additive Safety and Health Canada's section on chemicals, health products and food discussed their agencies' respective approaches to risk assessment.

The FDCPMC is a self-funded business unit of the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. Since 1957, the FDCPMC has fostered the use of good science and good public policy in the safe use and regulation of packaging and non-packaging components for food, drugs, personal care products, cosmetics, toys and medical devices. The FDCPMC provides a network for the dissemination of regulatory information and a forum for the discussion of relevant global issues.

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR A SOURCE TO QUOTE, contact Susan Howe, Executive Director of the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Packaging Materials Committee at (202) 974-5223 or showe@socplas.org

Founded in 1937, The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc., is the trade association representing one of the largest manufacturing industries in the United States. SPI's members represent the entire plastics industry supply chain, including processors, machinery and equipment manufacturers and raw materials suppliers. The U.S. plastics industry employs 1.4 million workers and provides nearly $310 billion in annual shipments. For more information, visit SPI on the Web at www.plasticsindustry.org.

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