Safety assessment of the process Ester Industries, based on the recoSTAR PET FG technology, used to recycle post-consumer PET into food contact materials

The EFSA Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes and Processing Aids (CEP) assessed the safety of the recycling process Ester Industries (EU register number RECYC261) using the recoSTAR PET FG technology. The input is hot washed and dried poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes originating from collected post-consumer PET containers, mainly bottles, with no more than 5% PET from non-food consumer applications. The flakes are processed continuously under an inert gas flow. They are dried and crystallised in a first reactor and then further heated in a second reactor before being extruded into pellets. Having examined the challenge test provided, the Panel concluded that the drying and crystallisation (step 2), and the heating of the crystallised flakes (step 3) are the critical steps that determine the decontamination efficiency of the process. The operating parameters to control the performance of these critical steps are temperature, residence time and gas flow rate. It was demonstrated that this recycling process is able to ensure that the level of migration of potential unknown contaminants into food is 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 of safety concern, when used at up to 100% for the manufacture of materials and articles for contact with all types of foodstuffs for long-term storage at room temperature, with or without hotfill. Trays made of this recycled PET are not intended to be used in microwave and conventional ovens and such use is not covered by this evaluation.