Safety assessment of the process NOVAPET, based on the Polymetrix pellet 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 NOVAPET (EU register number RECYC216), which uses the Polymetrix pellet technology. The input material is hot washed and dried poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) flakes originating from collected post‐consumer PET containers, e.g. bottles, including no more than 5% PET from non‐food consumer applications. The flakes are extruded into pellets, crystallised, preheated and subsequently decontaminated in a solid‐state polycondensation (SSP) reactor under high temperature and gas flow. Having examined the challenge tests provided, the Panel concluded that the fifth step, the decontamination in the SSP reactor, is critical in determining the decontamination efficiency of the process. The operating parameters to control the performance of this critical step are temperature, gas speed 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. 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 for long‐term storage at room temperature, with or without hotfill. The final 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.