Safety assessment of the process Lietpak, based on the EREMA MPR 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 Lietpak (EU register number RECYC327), which uses the EREMA MPR technology. The input material is hot caustic washed and dried poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes originating from collected post-consumer PET containers, including no more than 5% PET from non-food consumer applications. The flakes are heated in a ■■■■■ reactor under vacuum. Having examined the challenge test provided, the Panel concluded that the ■■■■■ decontamination (step 2), for which a challenge test was provided, is critical in determining the decontamination efficiency of the process. The operating parameters to control the performance of this step are temperature, pressure and residence time. It was demonstrated that this recycling process is able to ensure a level of migration of potential unknown contaminants into food below the conservatively modelled migration of 0.1 µg/kg food, derived from the exposure scenario for infants, when such recycled PET is used at up to 100%. 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, including drinking water, for long-term storage at room temperature or below, with or without hotfill. Articles made of this recycled PET are not intended to be used in microwave or conventional ovens and such uses are not covered by this evaluation.

Safety assessment of the process Guolong, based on the EREMA Basic 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 Guolong (EU register number RECYC323), which uses the EREMA Basic technology. The input material is hot caustic washed and dried poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes originating from collected post-consumer PET containers, including no more than 5% PET from non-food consumer applications. The flakes are heated in a ■■■■■ reactor under vacuum before being extruded. Having examined the challenge test provided, the Panel concluded that the ■■■■■ decontamination (step 2), for which a challenge test was provided, is critical in determining the decontamination efficiency of the process. The operating parameters to control the performance of this step are temperature, pressure and residence time. It was demonstrated that this recycling process is able to ensure a level of migration of potential unknown contaminants into food below the conservatively modelled migrations of 0.1 and 0.15 µg/kg food, derived from the exposure scenarios for infants and toddlers, when such recycled PET is used at up to 100%. 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, including drinking water, for long-term storage at room temperature or below, with or without hotfill. Articles made of this recycled PET are not intended to be used in microwave or conventional ovens and such uses are not covered by this evaluation.

Scientific Guidance on the criteria for the evaluation and on the preparation of applications for the safety assessment of post-consumer mechanical PET recycling processes intended to be used for manufacture of materials and articles in contact with food.

In the context of entry into force of Regulation (EU) 2022/1616, EFSA updated the scientific guidance to assist applicants in the preparation of applications for the authorisation or for the modification of an existing authorisation of a 'post-consumer mechanical PET' recycling process (as defined in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2022/1616) intended to be used for manufacturing materials and articles intended to come into contact with food. This Guidance describes the evaluation criteria and the scientific evaluation approach that EFSA will apply to assess the decontamination capability of recycling processes, as well as the information required to be included in an application dossier. The principle of the scientific evaluation approach is to apply the decontamination efficiency of a recycling process, obtained from a challenge test with surrogate contaminants, to a reference contamination level for post-consumer PET, set at 3 mg/kg PET for a contaminant resulting from possible misuse. The resulting residual concentration of each surrogate in recycled PET is then compared to a modelled concentration in PET that is calculated using generally recognised conservative migration models, such that the related migration does not give rise to a dietary exposure exceeding 0.0025 µg/kg body weight (bw) per day. This is the lowest threshold for toxicological concern (TTC) value, i.e. for potential genotoxicity, below which the risk to human health would be negligible. The information to be provided in the applications relates to: the recycling process (i.e. collection and pre-processing of the input, decontamination process, post-processing and intended use); the determination of the decontamination efficiency by the challenge test; the self-evaluation of the recycling process. On the basis of the submitted data, EFSA will assess the safety of the mechanical PET recycling process.

Safety assessment of the process KGL, based on the EREMA Basic 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 KGL (EU register number RECYC326), which uses the EREMA Basic technology. The input material is hot caustic washed and dried poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes originating from collected post-consumer PET containers, including no more than 5% PET from non-food consumer applications. The flakes are heated in a ■■■■■ reactor under vacuum before being extruded. Having examined the challenge test provided, the Panel concluded that the ■■■■■ decontamination (step 2), for which a challenge test was provided, is critical in determining the decontamination efficiency of the process. The operating parameters to control the performance of this step are temperature, pressure and residence time. It was demonstrated that this recycling process is able to ensure a level of migration of potential unknown contaminants into food below the conservatively modelled migrations of 0.1 and 0.15 µg/kg food, derived from the exposure scenarios for infants and toddlers, when such recycled PET is used at up to 100%. 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, including drinking water, for long-term storage at room temperature or below, with or without hotfill. Articles made of this recycled PET are not intended to be used in microwave or conventional ovens and such uses are not covered by this evaluation.

Safety assessment of the process Palamidis, based on the EREMA Basic 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 Palamidis (EU register number RECYC325), which uses the EREMA Basic technology. The input material is hot caustic washed and dried poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes originating from collected post-consumer PET containers, including no more than 5% PET from non-food consumer applications. The flakes are heated in a ■■■■■ reactor under vacuum before being extruded. Having examined the challenge test provided, the Panel concluded that the ■■■■■ decontamination (step 2), for which a challenge test was provided, is critical in determining the decontamination efficiency of the process. The operating parameters to control the performance of this step are temperature, pressure and residence time. It was demonstrated that this recycling process is able to ensure a level of migration of potential unknown contaminants into food below the conservatively modelled migrations of 0.1 and 0.15 µg/kg food, derived from the exposure scenarios for infants and toddlers, when such recycled PET is used at up to 100%. 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, including drinking water, for long-term storage at room temperature or below, with or without hotfill. Articles made of this recycled PET are not intended to be used in microwave or conventional ovens and such uses are not covered by this evaluation.

Safety assessment of the process Ecopacking, based on the EREMA Basic 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 Ecopacking (EU register number RECYC324), which uses the EREMA Basic technology. The input material is ■■■■■ washed and dried poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes originating from collected post-consumer PET containers, including no more than 5% PET from non-food consumer applications. The flakes are heated in a ■■■■■ reactor ■■■■■ before being extruded. Having examined the challenge test provided, the Panel concluded that the ■■■■■ decontamination (step 2), for which a challenge test was provided, is critical in determining the decontamination efficiency of the process. The operating parameters to control the performance of this step are temperature, pressure and residence time. It was demonstrated that this recycling process is able to ensure a level of migration of potential unknown contaminants into food below the conservatively modelled migrations of 0.1 and 0.15 µg/kg food, derived from the exposure scenarios for infants and toddlers, when such recycled PET is used at up to 100%. 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, including drinking water, for long-term storage at room temperature or below, with or without hotfill. Articles made of this recycled PET are not intended to be used in microwave or conventional ovens and such uses are not covered by this evaluation.

Safety assessment of the process Fucine Film, based on the Reifenhäuser 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 Fucine Film (EU register number RECYC322), which uses the Reifenhäuser technology. The input material consists of hot caustic washed and dried poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes mainly originating from collected post-consumer PET containers, including no more than 5% PET from non-food consumer applications. The flakes are extruded under vacuum into sheets. The recycled sheets are intended to be used at up to 100% for the manufacture of materials and articles for contact with all types of foodstuffs, excluded drinking water and beverages, for long-term storage at room temperature, with or without hotfill. Based on the limited data available, the Panel concluded that the information submitted to EFSA was inadequate to demonstrate that the recycling process Fucine Film is able to reduce potential unknown contamination of the input PET flakes to a concentration that does not pose a risk to human health.

Safety assessment of the process Martogg Group, based on the EREMA Advanced technology, used to recycle post-consumer PET into food contact materials.

The EFSA Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes and Processing Aids assessed the safety of the recycling process Martogg Group (EU register number RECYC321), which uses the EREMA Advanced technology. The input material is ■■■■■ washed and dried poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes originating from collected post-consumer PET containers, including no more than 5% PET from non-food consumer applications. The flakes are heated in continuous reactors ■■■■■ before being extruded. Having examined the challenge test provided, the Panel concluded that the continuous decontamination steps (Steps 2 and 3), for which a challenge test was provided, are critical in determining the decontamination efficiency of the process. The operating parameters to control the performance of this step are temperature, pressure and residence time. It was demonstrated that this recycling process is able to ensure a level of migration of potential unknown contaminants into food below the conservatively modelled migration of 0.1 µg/kg food derived from the exposure scenario for infants when such recycled PET is used at up to 100%. 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, including drinking water, for long-term storage at room temperature or below, with or without hotfill. Articles made of this recycled PET are not intended to be used in microwave or conventional ovens and such uses are not covered by this evaluation.

Safety assessment of the process Lietpak, based on the EREMA MPR 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 Lietpak (EU register number RECYC319), which uses the EREMA MPR technology. The input material is hot caustic washed and dried poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes originating from collected post-consumer PET containers, including no more than 5% PET from non-food consumer applications. The flakes are heated ■■■■■ under vacuum (step 2). Having examined the challenge test provided, the Panel concluded that this step 2, for which the challenge test was provided, is critical in determining the decontamination efficiency of the process. The operating parameters to control the performance of this step are temperature, pressure and residence time. It was demonstrated that this recycling process is able to ensure a level of migration of potential unknown contaminants into food below the conservatively modelled migration of 0.15 µg/kg food, derived from the exposure scenario for toddlers, when such recycled PET is used at up to 100%. Therefore, the Panel concluded that the recycled PET obtained from this process is not considered to be of safety concern when used at up to 100% for the manufacture of materials and articles for contact with all types of foodstuffs, except drinking water, for long-term storage at room temperature or below, with or without hot fill. Articles made of this recycled PET are not intended to be used in microwave or conventional ovens and such uses are not covered by this evaluation.

Safety assessment of the process CeltiPak, based on the Kreyenborg IR Clean+ 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 CeltiPak (EU register number RECYC318), which uses the Kreyenborg IR Clean+ technology. The input material is hot caustic washed and dried poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes originating from collected post-consumer PET containers, for example, bottles, with no more than 5% PET from non-food consumer applications. The flakes are heated in a continuous IR dryer (step 2) before being processed in a finisher reactor (step 3). Having examined the challenge test provided, the Panel concluded that step 2 and step 3 are critical in determining the decontamination efficiency of the process. The operating parameters to control the performance of these critical steps are temperature, air/PET ratio and residence time. 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 0.10 and 0.15 µg/kg food, derived from the exposure scenario for infants and toddlers, respectively, when such recycled PET is used at up to 100%. Therefore, the Panel concluded that the recycled PET obtained from this process is not considered to be of safety concern, when used at up to 100% for the manufacture of materials and articles for contact with all types of foodstuffs, including drinking water, for long-term storage at room temperature or below, with or without hotfill. Articles made of this recycled PET are not intended to be used in microwave and conventional ovens and such uses are not covered by this evaluation.

Safety assessment of the process ENPLATER, based on the Kreyenborg IR clean+ 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 ENPLATER (EU register number RECYC316), which uses the Kreyenborg IR Clean+ technology. The input material is hot caustic washed and dried poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes originating from collected post-consumer PET containers, e.g. bottles, with no more than 5% PET from non-food consumer applications. The flakes are heated in a continuous IR dryer (step 2) before being processed in a finisher reactor (step 3). Having examined the challenge test provided, the Panel concluded that step 2 and step 3 are critical in determining the decontamination efficiency of the process. The operating parameters to control the performance of these critical steps are temperature, air/PET ratio and residence time. 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 0.10 and 0.15 µg/kg food, derived from the exposure scenario for infants and toddlers, respectively, when such recycled PET is used at up to 100%. Therefore, the Panel concluded that the recycled PET obtained from this process is not considered to be of safety concern, when used at up to 100% for the manufacture of materials and articles for contact with all types of foodstuffs, including drinking water, for long-term storage at room temperature or below, with or without hotfill. Articles made of this recycled PET are not intended to be used in microwave and conventional ovens and such uses are not covered by this evaluation.

Safety assessment of the process GTX Hanex, based on the Kreyenborg IR Clean+ 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 GTX Hanex (EU register number RECYC317), which uses the Kreyenborg IR Clean+ technology. The input material is hot caustic washed and dried poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes originating from collected post-consumer PET containers, e.g. bottles, with no more than 5% PET from non-food consumer applications. The flakes are heated in a continuous IR dryer (step 2) before being processed in a finisher reactor (step 3). Having examined the challenge test provided, the Panel concluded that step 2 and step 3 are critical in determining the decontamination efficiency of the process. The operating parameters to control the performance of these critical steps are temperature, air/PET ratio and residence time. 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 0.10 and 0.15 µg/kg food, derived from the exposure scenario for infants and toddlers, respectively, when such recycled PET is used at up to 100%. Therefore, the Panel concluded that the recycled PET obtained from this process is not considered to be of safety concern, when used at up to 100% for the manufacture of materials and articles for contact with all types of foodstuffs, including drinking water, for long-term storage at room temperature or below, with or without hotfill. Articles made of this recycled PET are not intended to be used in microwave and conventional ovens and such uses are not covered by this evaluation.

Safety assessment of the process Shinkong, based on the EREMA Basic 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 Shinkong (EU register number RECYC320), which uses the EREMA Basic technology. The input material is ■■■■■ washed and dried poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes originating from collected post-consumer PET containers, including no more than 5% PET from non-food consumer applications. The flakes are heated in a continuous reactor ■■■■■ before being extruded. Having examined the challenge test provided, the Panel concluded that the continuous decontamination (step 2), for which a challenge test was provided, is critical in determining the decontamination efficiency of the process. The operating parameters to control the performance of this step are temperature, pressure and residence time. It was demonstrated that this recycling process is able to ensure a level of migration of potential unknown contaminants into food below the conservatively modelled migration of 0.1 µg/kg food derived from the exposure scenario for infants, when such recycled PET is used at up to 100%. 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, including drinking water, for long-term storage at room temperature or below, with or without hotfill. Articles made of this recycled PET are not intended to be used in microwave or conventional ovens and such uses are not covered by this evaluation.

Safety assessment of the process Reliance Industries, based on the ProTec 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 Reliance Industries (EU register number RECYC315), which uses the ProTec technology. The input material consists of washed and dried poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes, mainly originating from collected post-consumer PET containers, e.g. bottles, with no more than 5% PET from non-food consumer applications. The flakes are extruded into pellets (step 1), crystallised (step 2) and treated in a solid-state polycondensation (SSP) reactor (step 3). Having examined the challenge test provided, the Panel concluded that the extrusion and the decontamination in the ■■■■■ SSP reactor (steps 1 and 3) are critical in determining the decontamination efficiency of the process. The operating parameters to control the performance of these critical steps are temperature, pressure and residence time. 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 considered to be of safety concern, when used at up to 100% for the manufacture of materials and articles for contact with all types of foodstuffs, including drinking water, for long-term storage at room temperature or below, with or without hotfill. The final articles made of this recycled PET are not intended to be used in microwave and conventional ovens and such uses are not covered by this evaluation.

Safety assessment of the process Novatex, based on the EREMA Basic 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 Novatex (EU register number RECYC313), which uses the EREMA Basic technology. The input material is ■■■■■ washed and dried poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes originating from collected post-consumer PET containers, including no more than 5% PET from non-food consumer applications. The flakes are heated in a continuous reactor under vacuum before being extruded. Having examined the challenge test provided, the Panel concluded that the continuous decontamination (step 2), for which a challenge test was provided, is critical in determining the decontamination efficiency of the process. The operating parameters to control the performance of this step are temperature, pressure and residence time. It was demonstrated that this recycling process is able to ensure a level of migration of potential unknown contaminants into food below the conservatively modelled migration of 0.1 µg/kg food derived from the exposure scenario for infants when such recycled PET is used at up to 95% in mixtures with virgin PET, and of 0.15 µg/kg food, derived from the exposure scenario for toddlers when used at up to 100%. Therefore, the Panel concluded that the recycled PET obtained from this process is not of safety concern when used at up to 95% in mixtures with virgin PET for manufacturing of materials and articles for contact with all types of foodstuffs, including drinking water bottles, and at up to 100% for the manufacture of materials and articles for contact with all types of foodstuffs except drinking water, for long-term storage at room temperature or below, with or without hotfill. Articles made of this recycled PET are not intended to be used in microwave or conventional ovens and such uses are not covered by this evaluation.

Safety assessment of the process Reciclar, based on the EREMA Basic 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 Reciclar (EU register number RECYC314), which uses the EREMA Basic technology. The input material is ■■■■■ washed and dried poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes originating from collected post-consumer PET containers, including no more than 5% PET from non-food consumer applications. The flakes are heated in a continuous reactor under vacuum before being extruded. Having examined the challenge test provided, the Panel concluded that the continuous decontamination (step 2), for which a challenge test was provided, is critical in determining the decontamination efficiency of the process. The operating parameters to control the performance of this step are temperature, pressure and residence time. It was demonstrated that this recycling process is able to ensure a level of migration of potential unknown contaminants into food below the conservatively modelled migration of 0.1 µg/kg food, derived from the exposure scenario for infants, when such recycled PET is used at up to 95% in mixtures with virgin PET, and of 0.15 µg/kg food, derived from the exposure scenario for toddlers, when used at up to 100%. Therefore, the Panel concluded that the recycled PET obtained from this process is not of safety concern when used at up to 95% in mixtures with virgin PET for manufacturing of materials and articles for contact with all types of foodstuffs, including drinking water bottles, and at up to 100% for the manufacture of materials and articles for contact with all types of foodstuffs, except drinking water, for long-term storage at room temperature or below, with or without hotfill. Articles made of this recycled PET are not intended to be used in microwave or conventional ovens and such uses are not covered by this evaluation.

Safety assessment of the process Rekis, based on the VACUNITE (EREMA basic and Polymetrix SSP V-leaN) 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 Rekis (EU register number RECYC311), which uses the VACUNITE (EREMA basic and Polymetrix SSP V-leaN) technology. The input is hot caustic washed and dried poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes mainly originating from collected post-consumer PET containers, with no more than 5% PET from non-food consumer applications. The flakes are pre-decontaminated in the ■■■■■ at ■■■■■ under ■■■■■ (step 2) before being extruded, pelletised and ■■■■■ (step 3). The crystallised pellets are then ■■■■■ (step 4) and submitted to solid-state polycondensation (SSP) (step 5) at ■■■■■, under ■■■■■ and ■■■■■. Having examined the challenge tests provided, the Panel concluded that step 2 as well as steps 4 and 5 are critical for determining the decontamination efficiency of the process. The operating parameters to control the performance are temperature, pressure and residence time for steps 2, 4 and 5 as well as the gas velocity for steps 4 and 5. 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, including drinking water, for long-term storage at room temperature or below, with or without hotfill. The final articles made of this recycled PET are not intended to be used in microwave and conventional ovens and such uses are not covered by this evaluation.

Safety assessment of the process Intco Malaysia, based on the VACUNITE (EREMA basic and Polymetrix SSP V-leaN) 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 Intco Malaysia (EU register number RECYC309), which uses the VACUNITE (EREMA basic and Polymetrix SSP V-leaN) technology. The input consists of hot caustic washed and dried poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes mainly originating from collected post-consumer PET containers, with no more than 5% PET from non-food consumer applications. The flakes are pre-decontaminated in the ■■■■■ at ■■■■■ under ■■■■■ (step 2), then extruded and pelletised. The ■■■■■ pellets are then ■■■■■ and submitted to solid-state polycondensation (SSP) at ■■■■■ under ■■■■■ and ■■■■■. Having examined the challenge tests provided, the Panel concluded that the step 2 (flake reactor) and steps 4 and 5 (preheating and SSP) are critical for determining the decontamination efficiency of the process. The operating parameters to control the performance are temperature, pressure and residence time for steps 2, 4 and 5 as well as the ■■■■■ for steps 4 and 5. 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, including drinking water, for long-term storage at room temperature or below, with or without hotfill. The final articles made of this recycled PET are not intended to be used in microwave and conventional ovens and such uses are not covered by this evaluation.

Safety assessment of the process Guangxi Wuzhou Guolong Recyclable, based on the Vacunite (EREMA basic and Polymetrix SSP V-LeaN) 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 Guangxi Wuzhou Guolong Recyclable (EU register number RECYC310), which uses the VACUNITE (EREMA basic and Polymetrix SSP V-leaN) technology. The input consists of hot caustic washed and dried poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes, mainly originating from collected post-consumer PET containers, with no more than 5% PET from non-food consumer applications. The flakes are pre-decontaminated in the ■■■■■ at ■■■■■ under ■■■■■ (step 2) before being extruded, pelletised and crystallised (step 3). The ■■■■■ pellets are then ■■■■■ (step 4) and submitted to solid-state polycondensation (SSP) (step 5) at high temperature under ■■■■■ and ■■■■■. Having examined the challenge tests provided, the Panel concluded that step 2 as well as steps 4 and 5 are critical for determining the decontamination efficiency of the process. The operating parameters to control the performance are temperature, pressure and residence time for steps 2, 4 and 5 as well as the ■■■■■ for steps 4 and 5. 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, including drinking water, for long-term storage at room temperature or below, with or without hotfill. Articles made of this recycled PET are not intended to be used in microwave and conventional ovens and such uses are not covered by this evaluation.

Safety assessment of the process ENVICCO, based on EREMA basic and Polymetrix SSP leaN 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 ENVICCO (EU register number RECYC301), which uses the EREMA basic and Polymetrix SSP leaN technology. The input consists of hot caustic washed and dried poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes mainly originating from collected post-consumer PET containers, with no more than 5% PET from non-food consumer applications. The flakes are pre-decontaminated in the EREMA reactor at high temperature under vacuum (step 2) before being extruded, pelletised and crystallised (step 3). The crystallised pellets are then preheated (step 4) and submitted to solid-state polycondensation (SSP) (step 5) at ■■■■■ temperature and under nitrogen flow. Having examined the challenge tests provided, the Panel concluded that step 2 as well as steps 4 and 5 are critical for determining the decontamination efficiency of the process. The operating parameters to control the performance of these critical steps are temperature, pressure and residence time for step 2 and temperature, residence time and gas velocity for steps 4 and 5. 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, including drinking water, for long-term storage at room temperature or below, with or without hotfill. The final articles made of this recycled PET are not intended to be used in microwave and conventional ovens and such uses are not covered by this evaluation.