Regulations

Amidst growing questions about the safety of plasticisers, the EU and the US have regulated the use of some of these chemicals.

A US consumer-safety law that took effect in February 2009 effectively bans some of the more common phthalates (see the table in 'What are plasticisers').

Three of them - BBP, DBP and DEHP - are permanently banned from toys and childcare products. A further three - DIDP, DINP and DnOP - have been banned temporarily from products that are designed to be put in a child's mouth (such as pacifiers and teething rings). Whether this ban is made permanent will depend on the outcome of a Chronic Hazard Advisory Panel safety review.

Similar bans are already in place in the EU. The European Parliament has classified BBP, DBP and DEHP as reproductive toxins and they're prohibited in all toys and childcare products. EU regulations state: "Children as developing organisms are particularly vulnerable to [reproductive toxins]. Therefore, the exposure of children to all practically avoidable sources of emissions of these substances, especially from articles which are put into the mouth by children, should be reduced as far as possibe". EU regulations also ban these chemicals in cosmetics and place controls on their use in food contact materials.

The EU has taken a precautionary approach to the use of ESBO in food packaging. It's set a limit for ESBO of 60 parts per million (ppm) in food generally and 30ppm in baby food. This limit is the maximum amount of the substance allowed to migrate into foods from materials such as lid seals.

What's happening here?

The use of plasticisers in kids' products and food packaging isn't regulated here - but some plasticisers are banned from use in cosmetics.

Bizarrely, chemicals deemed unsafe (BBP, DBP and DEHP) in products we apply to our skin can still be used in toys that kids put in their mouths and in materials that come into contact with our food.

One reason for this is that our cosmetic regulations, which are set by the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA), are based on EU standards. But we don't always follow the EU when it comes to setting regulations for food packaging and toy safety.

Who does what?

Confusingly, regulation of hazardous substances in consumer products is carried out by several agencies. ERMA regulates hazardous substances in cosmetic ingredients (and in a range of other manufactured goods) but not in toys or food packaging.

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs is responsible for toy safety. Current product safety standards for children's toys cover aspects such as choking hazards, noise and lead levels. But there are no specific controls on the use of phthalates in kids' products.

Food packaging comes under the watch of Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) and the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA). Existing rules contain a general requirement that food packaging must not cause food to be unsafe. NZFSA says compliance with recognised international food standards would be reasonable evidence that materials are suitable for use.

FSANZ, which sets standards for both countries, says it's reviewing the way packaging materials are regulated. This review is likely to look at the wide range of chemicals found in packaging and "the potential health effects from the migration of these chemicals into food". However, work is still in the early stages and the results are likely to be some way off.

More action needed
 

While we welcome the FSANZ review, we'd like to see faster action. There's already been a considerable amount of work done on plasticisers, prompting regulatory authorities overseas to set up consumer safeguards. We think regulatory agencies here need to move much more quickly to make sure our standards don't fall behind.