Scientific Opinion on the safety assessment of the process “Equipolymers Melt-in”, used to recycle post-consumer PET into food contact materials

This scientific opinion of the EFSA Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavourings and Processing Aids deals with the safety assessment of the recycling process Equipolymers Melt-in (EU register number RECYC007). The input of the process is hot caustic washed and dried PET flakes originating from collected post-consumer PET bottles containing no more than 5 % of PET from non-food consumer applications. Through this process, washed and dried PET flakes are infrared dried and extruded. The extruded melt is fed up to 50 % into the main polymer stream of a continuous condensation process for the manufacture of virgin PET in which the melt of virgin and recycled PET is filtered and pellets are produced. The pellets are then crystallised, heated and solid state polymerised in separate reactors. Having examined the challenge test provided, the Panel concluded that crystallisation, heating and solid state polymerisation (step 3) and the addition of 50 % virgin PET melt are critical for the decontamination efficiency of the process. The operating parameters to control its performance are the temperature, the gas flow and the residence time and the addition of 50 % virgin PET melt. The operating parameters of this step in the process are at least as severe as those obtained from the challenge test. Under these conditions, it was demonstrated that the recycling process 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. The Panel concluded that the recycled PET obtained from the process Equipolymers Melt-in intended for the manufacture of materials and articles made with up to 50 % recycled post-consumer PET for contact with all types of foodstuffs for hotfill and/or long term storage at room temperature is not considered of safety concern.