Safety assessment of the process Plastrec, based on the Polymetrix technology, used to recycle post-consumer PET into food contact materials

Abstract

The EFSA Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes and Processing Aids (CEP) assessed the safety of the recycling process Plastrec (EU register number RECYC288), which uses the Polymetrix technology. The input material consists of hot washed and dried poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes originating from collected post-consumer PET containers, e.g. bottles, including no more than 5% PET from non-food consumer applications. The flakes are extruded to pellets, crystallised and subsequently decontaminated in a solid-state polycondensation (SSP) reactor under high temperature and gas flow. Having examined the challenge tests provided, the Panel concluded that the fourth step, the decontamination in the SSP reactor, is critical in determining the decontamination efficiency of the process. The operating parameters to control the performance of this critical step are temperature, gas velocity and residence time. It was demonstrated that this recycling process is able to ensure a level of migration of potential unknown contaminants into food below the conservatively modelled migration of 0.1 μg/kg food. Therefore, the Panel concluded that the recycled PET obtained from this process is not considered to be of safety concern, when used at up to 100% for the manufacture of materials and articles for contact with all types of foodstuffs, including drinking water, for long-term storage at room temperature or below, with or without hotfill. The final articles made of this recycled PET are not intended to be used in microwave or conventional ovens and such uses are not covered by this evaluation.

Keywords: Plastrec Inc.; Polymetrix; food contact materials; plastic; poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET); recycling process; safety assessment.