On the 10th June 2009, the US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Final Rule entitled ‘Residues of Silver in Foods from Food Contact Surface Sanitizing Solutions; Exemption from the Requirement of a Tolerance’. According to Notice in the Federal Register (10th June 2009), the ‘regulation amends the exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of silver (excludes silver salts) in or on all foods when applied or used in public eating places, dairy processing equipment, and foodprocessing equipment. [...] The regulation being established will exempt all foods from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of silver resulting from contact with surfaces treated with solutions in which the end-use concentration of silver is not to exceed 50 parts per million (ppm).’
‘This revised tolerance expression excludes any other silver-containing compounds whether they are other silver salts, complexes with inorganic polymers such as zeolites, or metallic silver in any form or dimension including nanoscale.’
Follow these links read the full Federal Register Notice, or to find out more about the EPA Rule.
Registered NIA Members can
download a legal briefing on this EPA Rule (kindly provided by Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.), by accessing the
‘Members only’-area on the NIA website and following the link to
‘Topical Briefings’.
Related Links:
In a joint report entitled ‘Nano & Biocidal Silver’, Friends of the Earth Australia and Friends of the Earth Unites States ‘calls for a immediate moratorium on the commercial release of products that contain manufactured nanosilver until nanotechnology-specific regulation is introduced to protect the public, workers and the environment from their risks, and until the public is involved in decision making.’ (11th June 2009)
Following a mandatory data call-in on carbon nanotubes, and the expression of a similar interest in ‘reactive metal oxides’, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC/Department) has now updated its website with an announcement that the following materials have been added ‘to the list of nanomaterials of interest: [...]. (6th June 2009)
The Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA) has submitted Comments to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the ‘Petition for Rulemaking Requesting EPA Regulate Nanoscale Silver Products as Pesticides’. (20th March 2009)
In just one day, the Los Angeles Times dedicated three articles to the debate on the use on nanosilver as an antibacterial. (4th August 2008)
The US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) has published a statement clarifying its competence to regulate products containing nanoscale materials, and its ongoing activities to do so. (22nd July 2008)
A coalition of consumer protection, health and environmental groups, led by the Washington-based International Center for Technology Assessment (CTA), filed a legal petition with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), demanding the agency to halt the sale of consumer products containing silver nanoparticles. (1st May 2008)