Providing clarity on disposable plastic kitchenware

A summary of a report by the Pro.Mo Group of the Plastic and Rubber Federation, whose members include producers of plastic packaging and disposable kitchenware. (www.pro-mo.it).

In order to refute a number of erroneous and misleading claims by certain newspapers on “the presence of the illegal additive fluorine in disposable plates”, the Pro.Mo Group states the following: «Plastic food packaging complies with the provisions of EU Regulation 10/2011, are to be considered safe and present no risk to the end consumer. No fluorine compounds are present in the polymers used to produce disposable plastic kitchenware, and none are added during the production process.
As for the inspections by the Carabinieri food safety department at numerous school cafeterias, reported by various newspapers, which generally referred to “contaminated plastic plates” in association with the presence of fluorine residues in “bowls”, these residues cannot be found in disposable plastic kitchenware, but they can appear in disposable kitchenware made from compostable cellulose pulp.
[...] Contrary to packaging made using other raw materials, plastic packaging for food products (whose legal definition also includes the disposable kitchenware used in school cafeterias) are one of the most strictly regulated types, due to extensive specific European legislation (EU Regulation N.10/2011), which supplements Italian legislation on the material. EU Regulation 10/2011 implements the Community Framework Regulation (EC Regulation 1935/2004) governing materials and objects in contact with food products [...].
The concerns adhering to the Pro.Mo Group have long been committed to ongoing quality improvement, which has led to the drafting of Guidelines for production practices that stipulate inspection criteria which are even stricter than those provided for by the law.