Sustainable Plastics - October 2021 - 35

recycling
FDA and EFSA food
grade recycled resins
are required to reach
global industry targets
Targets set by brand-owners and regulations have been contributing to a growing
demand for recycled plastics globally, particularly for use in food and beverage
packaging. However, the supply of high-quality food grade recycled polymers
remain limited. Challenges include, among others, low volume and quality of postconsumer
waste, costly sorting and washing technologies to eliminate contaminants,
and the need of approvals from governmental agencies. By Paula Leardini, Senior
Analyst, Plastic Recycling, The Americas at ICIS and Carolina Perujo Holland,
Analyst, Plastic Recycling at ICIS
Food grade capacity by polymer
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 
C
Food grade capacity by region and by agency

trol and supervise materials
used in contact with food. Two
central agencies widely recognised
are the United States
Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) and the European Food
Safety Authority (EFSA). Their
main safety concerns are related
to possible contaminants
from post-consumer waste that
can be harmful to human health
if remained in the packaging
that will be in contact with food.
Any material, including virgin
polymers, must be regulated for
food contact use, thus the same
principle applies to recyclates.
Companies that wish to use re
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

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
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then evaluates each proposal,
case-by-case, and provides
companies with a Letter of No
Objection (LNO), which is a
recommendation as to whether
the recycling process is likely to
produce plastic that is appropriate
for food-contact purposes.
The EFSA evaluation of recycycled
plastic for a food-contact
application in the United States
cling processes requires companies
to prepare a dossier along
with a request for authorization
of the use of recycled plastics
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 
Food grade capacity by region
ountries have their
own local agencies
that, among other
responsibilities, con


must submit a description of both
waste source and recycling process,
results of tests that prove
the process removes potential
contaminants, and a proposal of
use conditions in the final application,
such as temperature, type
of food, and duration of the contact.
A full guidance is published
on FDA's website.
Once submitted, the FDA

in food contact materials to one
of the EU Member States' (MS)
competent authorities. EFSA receives
the dossier from the EU
MS, evaluates it and then provides
an opinion on the safety of
the recycled plastic given its intended
use. The EFSA opinion is
then used by the EU MS to grant
or reject authorization of the recycled
plastic.
The dossier must follow an
EFSA guidance which includes
a description of the recycling
process showing critical parameters
such as temperature,
pressure, process duration and
other operative details, and
the characterization of input
focusing on qualification and
evaluation of suppliers, origin of
the feedstock, traceability, and
the ability to prevent entry of
non-suitable materials into the
input stream. Also included are
the results of challenge tests to
demonstrate the decontamination
efficiency of the recycling
process, characterization of the
end recycled plastic product,
its intended application in food
contact, and compliance with
relevant provisions on food contact
materials.
Food grade resins current
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 
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
ly represent only 10% of the
global annual capacity of recycled
polymers of over 45 million
tonnes, according to ICIS
Mechanical Recycling Supply
Tracker. The research includes
recycled polyethylene terephthalate
(R-PET), recycled
polyethylene (R-PE), and recycled
polypropylene (R-PP).
However, the food grade availability
varies extensively among
the resins, as represented in the
following chart. Slightly over
20% of R-PET capacity globally
is food grade in comparison with
only 3% of polyolefins.
This difference is a result of
usage of each polymer in different
applications, where PET
resin is used predominantly
in food packaging compared
to other polymers, thereby increasing
the available post-consumer
sourced feedstocks for
recycling back into food grade
recycled polymer. In addition,
currently, some countries allow
the use of recycled plastics in
food contact applications but
many other do not and this can
vary by polymer also. This is the
case in Brazil, where the National
Health Surveillance Agency
(ANVISA) only authorizes food
grade for R-PET.
There is no country-specific
regulation to explicitly allow
or prohibit the use of recycled
plastics in food applications in
Asia except for Japan, hence
the lack of any regional agency
equivalent to FDA and EFSA.
However, recent developments
in Korea, China and Thailand
indicate food packaging
continued on page 36
October 2021
35
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 
 
 
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Sustainable Plastics - October 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sustainable Plastics - October 2021
