Document 1gOoXv7QjVyyvQ4BQ8ny754Kd

^-FOR COMMENT EXPECTED TO BE EXTENDED ON PVC The Food and Drug Administration is expected to extend for 90 days -- until Oct. 16 -- the time for comment on its proposal to eliminate prior sanction approval of polyvinyl chloride resins in packaging alcoholic beverages (See FOOD CHEMICAL NEWS, May 21, Page 42). The time extension was requested last week by the Society of the Plastics Industries, which said' a monomer migration problem, given as the reason for the FDA proposal, is on its way to solution. SPI continued; "... Work towards this end has progressed to a point where it is completely clear that residual monomer in, for example, bottle compounds, can now be reduced from as high as 800 p.p.m, (which was not uncommon in previous practice) in the compound to less than 25 p.p.m. It might be noted that by calculation alone it would be possible to demonstrate that the amount of monomer which might find its way into alcoholic beverages.. .could not ASl 000016687 1 ^age 38 jajy 9, 1973 FOOD CHEMICAL NEWS exceed one p.p.m. for even the type of container used for miniaturewhere the surface-to-volume conditions are at their extreme..'" f However, the Society said, the low-residual-monomer products have just become available and, "There has not been sufficient time in which to test the new compounds in accordance with the FDA's 'Guidelines for Chemistry and Technology Requirements of Food Additive Petitions' (Aug. 1966)." The extension should cause no harm, the Society said, because the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms of the Internal Revenue Service "has already called a halt to the use of PVC containers for alcoholic beverages, at least until such time as there is final action by FDA on the newly proposed 121.2009." On the same proposal, Donald Macpherson & Co. of England asked FDA if the proposal would cancel or modify PVC approvals for vinyl resinous substances as basic polymers. Another British firm, Bakelite Xylonite Ltd. PVC Division asked for details of the testing programs which were carried out (including analytical test methods) to determine levels of vinyl chloride migration. e AMENDMENTS TO PROPOSED MILK STANDARDS SOUGHT IN COMMENTS |< Comments from firms and associations on the Food and Drug Administration's proposed standards for milk and cream products (See FOOD CHEMICAL NEWS, July 2, Page 12), on which an extended period of time for comment expires July 16, continue to seek amendments to the proposed standards. The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture's Dairy, Food and Drug / Committee filed new proposed standards for milk and cream products, revising an earlier submission of an NASDA Ad Hoc Committee (See FOOD CHEMICAL NEWS, March 12, Page 10), and the Milk Industry Foundation submitted proposed amendments to the J standards, similar to those submitted by NASDA. The NASDA proposal and the MIF proposal which amend the pro>dsals'fof whole milk, low-fat milk ,'andskim'milk , ask FDA to: (1) .Make vitamin D fortification of whole milk and vitamin A and D fortification of low-fat milk and skim milk optional, rather than mandatory, and allow for optional addition of other vitamins and minerals; (2) Provide for optional addition of natural and/or artificial food flavors and flavorings, with appropriate label declaration, with or without safe and suitable nutritive sweeteners; (3) Allow optional addition of nutritive sweeteners, with a label declaration, "sweetened;" (4) Provide for safe and suitable carriers for vitamins as optional ingredients;and (5) Allow use of concentrated milk, dried milk, condensed skim milk, or nonfat dry milk as optional ingredients. ASI 000016688