Safety assessment of the process ‘EREMA Recycling (MPR Basic and Advanced technologies)’ used to recycle post‐consumer PET into food contact materials

摘要

This scientific opinion of the Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavourings and Processing Aids ( Panel) deals with the safety assessment of the recycling process (the Multi‐Purpose Reactor ( ), Basic and Advanced technologies), with register number 0134. The input to this process is hot washed and dried poly(ethylene terephthalate) ( ) flakes originating from collected post‐consumer containers, containing no more than 5% from non‐food consumer applications. In the technology, post‐consumer washed and dried flakes are heated in a continuous reactor under vacuum. The decontamination technology can be combined with an extrusion line for pellets or sheet ( Basic) or with an additional reactor ( Advanced). The decontamination efficiency of the main continuous reactor ( technology) was determined by the challenge test. The Panel noted that this reactor is the critical step that determines the decontamination efficiency of these three technologies. The operating parameters controlling its performance are well defined and are temperature, pressure and residence time. It was demonstrated that, depending on the operating conditions, the recycling process under evaluation is able to ensure that the level of migration of potential unknown contaminants into food is below a conservatively modelled migration of 0.1 μg/kg food, derived from the exposure scenario for infants, and 0.15 μg/kg food, derived from the exposure scenario for toddlers, when recycled is used at up to 100%. The Panel concluded that recycled obtained from the process is not of safety concern when used to manufacture articles intended for food contact applications if it is produced in compliance with the conditions and the percentage of recycled added to virgin specified in this opinion.