The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (“FSSAI”) has notified Guidelines for acceptance of recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (“rPET”) as Food Contact Material (“FCM-rPET”). These Guidelines establish both process-level and material-level compliance requirements for the transformation of post-consumer food-grade PET waste into safe, recycled resins suitable for making Food Contact Materials.
These Guidelines apply to manufacturers of FCM-rPET, food business operators (“FBOs”), converters, beverage bottlers, and food packers, and prescribe stringent standards for recycling operations, testing methods, and documentation protocols that manufacturers must undertake during the FCM-rPET production.
Key Highlights:
The Guidelines mandate the food business operators (“FBOs”), FCM-rPET manufacturers, converters, beverage bottlers, food packers maintain and provide relevant documentation as specified to their relevant downstream customer (converters, beverage bottlers, food packers/FBOs) and to the Food Authority as and when asked for. It includes the following:
- a) A formal statement issued by the FCM-rPET manufacturer certifying conformity with the specifications for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as per Indian Standard IS:12252;
- b) A No Objection Certificate (NOC) issued by a recognized, competent authority addressing the capability of a given process to recycle post-Consumer Food Grade PET resin into FCM-rPET;
- c) Supply chain records on product traceability and quality assurance data on safety compliance at each level of the food chain.
Source: Food Safety and Standards Authority of India
