Recycling of Plastics for Food Contact Use. Guidelines Prepared under the Responsibility of the ILSI Europe Packaging Material Task Force

As packaging options for the delivery of safe, high-quality food and beverage products continue to grow, the opportunities to re-use materials, especially plastics, are growing as well. For that reason, the safety and quality assurance aspects of recycling technologies will continue to be examined for the major polymer types. In the examination process, any proper plastics recycling technology for food contact purposes must demonstrate the ability to remove potential chemical contaminants to an acceptable level of safety that addresses public health concerns. With this in mind, the ILSI Europe Packaging Material Task Force convened a workshop in London (UK) in March 1997 to produce guidelines for the safe recycling of plastics for food contact use. The workshop was followed by meetings and discussions among experts to produce guidelines and recommendations.