Safety assessment of the process EREMA Vacurema Basic_Sheet used to recycle post‐consumer PET into food contact materials

EFSA Panel on Food Contact Materials (FCM); Lambré, Claude; Crebelli, Riccardo; Silva, Maria da; Grob, Koni; Milana, Maria Rosaria; Pronk, Marja; Rivière, Gilles; Ščetar, Mario; Theodoridis, Georgios; Van Hoeck, Els; Waegeneers, Nadia; Dudler, Vincent; Papaspyrides, Constantine; Tavares Poças, Maria de Fátima; Marano, Remigio; Lampi, Evgenia

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.18/10667

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Authors

EFSA Panel on Food Contact Materials (FCM)

Milana, Maria Rosaria

Pronk, Marja

Rivière, Gilles

Ščetar, Mario

Theodoridis, Georgios

Abstract(s)

The EFSA Panel on Food Contact Materials (FCM) assessed the safety of the recycling process EREMA Vacurema Basic_Sheet (EU register number RECYC 337). The input is washed and dried poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes mainly originating from collected post‐consumer PET containers, with below 5% PET from non‐food consumer applications. The flakes are heated in a continuous flake reactor (step 2) under vacuum before being extruded. Having examined the challenge test provided, the Panel concluded that the step 2 is critical in determining the decontamination efficiency of the process. The operating parameters to control the efficiency are the temperature, the pressure (vacuum) and the residence time. It was demonstrated that this recycling process ensures that the level of migration of potential unknown contaminants into food is below the conservatively modelled migration of 0.156 or 0.312 μg/kg food, depending on the molar mass of the contaminant substance. Therefore, the Panel concluded that the recycled PET obtained from this process is not of safety concern, when used at up to 100% for the manufacture of materials and articles for contact with foodstuffs, excluding drinking water, reconstituted infant formula and human milk, and used for long‐term storage at room temperature or below, with or without hot‐fill. Articles made of this recycled PET are not intended to be used in microwave and conventional ovens and such uses are not covered by this evaluation.

Description

EFSA Panel on Food Contact Materials (FCM) Members: Claude Lambré, Riccardo Crebelli, Maria da Silva, Koni Grob, Evgenia Lampi, Maria Rosaria Milana, Marja Pronk, Gilles Rivière, Mario Ščetar, Georgios Theodoridis, Els Van Hoeck and Nadia Waegeneer.

Keywords

EREMA Vacurema Basic_Sheet Food Contact Materials Plastic Poly(ethylene terephthalate) PET Recycling Process Safety Assessment Genotoxicidade Ambiental