Plastics Industry Association

06/04/2026

And that's a wrap on the 2026 FDCPMC Spring Food Packaging Summit! 🎉

After three days of substantive sessions in Arlington, Virginia, we're closing out what has been one of the most timely and engaging editions of FDCPMC yet. Attendees heard from experts across government, industry, science, and advocacy—covering everything from FDA regulatory updates and GRAS reform to EU food contact rules, microplastics characterization, recycled content in pharmaceutical packaging, and the consumer forces reshaping food safety conversations.

A sincere thank you to every speaker who shared their expertise, and to every attendee who made the trip and engaged throughout the week. The insights shared over the last three days have given this community a much stronger foundation for navigating what's ahead—whether that's new compliance requirements, shifting public sentiment, or emerging regulatory priorities.

We hope you're leaving Arlington informed, connected, and ready for what's to come. See you next year!

06/03/2026

The regulatory landscape around food safety, transparency, and ingredient oversight is shifting—and for companies across the supply chain, staying ahead of those changes is increasingly business-critical.

At this year's FDCPMC Spring Food Packaging Summit, a standout panel brought together some of the most engaged voices in the space to explore what today's evolving priorities mean in practice.

Moderated by Devon Hill of Keller and Heckman, panelists Paul Honigfort, Jensen Jose, Tom Neltner, and Bethany Woods each brought firsthand experience navigating the real-world impacts of shifting regulatory priorities.

A timely, high-caliber conversation—and exactly the kind of substantive dialogue FDCPMC is built to facilitate.

06/03/2026

PLASTICS SVP of Sustainability Patrick Krieger moderated a conversation with Callahan Kilgore of FTI Consulting to bring attendees up to speed with several recent factors impacting plastics packaging.

For the plastics and packaging industry, knowing what's coming—and why—is the first step to responding effectively.

06/03/2026

The final day of the 2026 FDCPMC Spring Food Packaging Summit is underway in Arlington, Virginia!

After a jam-packed Tuesday—covering microplastics, new uses for recycled plastics in pharmaceuticals, and engaging Q&A sessions—we're wrapping up the week with more must-see programming:

📦 A regulatory update on food packaging in Canada
🏛️ Two panels focusing on consumer sentiment that will help inform attendees on how to navigate through challenges facing the industry.

As we close out this year's Summit, we want to hear from you: What's your biggest takeaway from the week's programming? Drop your thoughts in the comments below! 👇

06/02/2026

For any company selling food-contact materials into the European market, last year has brought significant regulatory change—and at this year's FDCPMC Spring Food Packaging Summit, we heard from one of the best people to explain it.

Hazel O'Keeffe, Partner at Keller and Heckman's Brussels office, brought her expertise in EU, Swiss, and UK food contact materials law directly to our attendees. O'Keeffe regularly counsels clients navigating this regulatory landscape and is a contributing author to Packing Law—making her one of the most plugged-in practitioners working at the intersection of packaging and European food law.

For companies with any exposure to the European market, understanding how these regulatory shifts affect food-contact materials—and how to stay compliant—is becoming increasingly business-critical.

This session delivered exactly that: clear, practical regulatory intelligence from someone helping clients answer these questions every day.

06/02/2026

U.S. exports of recyclable plastics fell 24.6% year-over-year in Q1 2026—but the story isn't just slowdown. Domestic recycling capacity is growing, USMCA partners remain central, and China's role continues to shrink. Here's what the numbers show. 🔗

U.S. trade in recyclable plastics materials slowed in the first quarter of 2026. Exports of recyclable materials—including polymers of ethy...

06/02/2026

The conversation around post-consumer recycled (PCR) content in pharmaceutical packaging is gaining real momentum—and at this year's FDCPMC Spring Food Packaging Summit, we heard from one of the most qualified voices in the field.

Dr. Desmond Hunt, Sr. Principal Scientist at the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP), joined a fireside chat on what it actually takes to introduce recycled plastics into drug packaging safely and compliantly. Dr. Hunt has been with USP since 2005, working at the intersection of pharmaceutical packaging standards, extractables and leachables, and the regulatory frameworks that determine what can and can't go into drug packaging. He's spent two decades helping write the rules that govern this space.

That expertise matters here, because PCR content presents a genuinely harder challenge in pharmaceutical contexts than in consumer packaging. The safety, purity, and consistency requirements are in a different class entirely—and pharma companies face real structural questions about how to move the needle on sustainability without compromising on quality.

This fireside chat brought the right people into the room to start answering those questions. More conversations like this are exactly what the industry needs.

06/02/2026

You can’t take full advantage of today’s sessions on an empty stomach!

Thank you to our lunch sponsor Steptoe for providing attendees and staff with fuel to get everyone through the afternoon stretch.

What has been your favorite session so far?

06/02/2026

One of the standout sessions at this year's FDCPMC Spring Food Packaging Summit came from Kyle Hart, Associate R&D Director at Dow, who offered a clear-eyed look at one of the most technically challenging problems in environmental science today: microplastics characterization.

Yes, microplastics can now be detected almost everywhere. But detection is only the first step. As Hart explained, rigorously characterizing those particles—their size, shape, polymer type, and surface chemistry—is an entirely different challenge, and it's one the field hasn't fully solved.

Method standardization hasn't kept pace with the science. Many studies still report only total mass or particle count, which leaves out the particle-level detail that researchers and regulators actually need to assess health and environmental risk.

It's a nuanced, important conversation—and exactly the kind of technical depth that makes FDCPMC a unique forum for the plastics and packaging value chain.

06/02/2026

One of the highlights from Day 2 of the FDCPMC Spring Food Packaging Summit: a session with Dr. Kristi Muldoon Jacobs, Director of FDA's Office of Pre-Market Additive Safety within the Human Foods Program.

Dr. Muldoon Jacobs offered attendees a rare, inside look at one of the busiest offices in federal food regulation. Her office sits at the center of a sweeping regulatory moment—overseeing the safety of food ingredients, color additives, GRAS substances, and food contact substances.

And the pace isn't slowing down. The FDA is simultaneously pursuing GRAS reform, phasing out petroleum-based synthetic dyes, and expanding its post-market reviews of food chemicals.

For anyone in the plastics, packaging, or food industry, this is the regulatory landscape shaping decisions right now. Sessions like this are exactly why FDCPMC matters.