Störmer, A.A.StörmerFranz, R.R.FranzWelle, F.F.Welle2022-03-032022-03-032004https://publica.fraunhofer.de/handle/publica/205698Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles which are intended for filling with beverages or other foods have to be in compliance with the food regulatory requirements as laid down in the EU Plastics Directive 2002/72/EC. It has to be assured that the overall migration limit and the specific migration limits of the monomers mono- and diethylene glycol as well as of terephthalic acid and the catalyst antimony are not exceeded. Conventionally this is carried out by experimental migration testing. In this study a survey of overall and specific migration from 34 PET bottle types from German PET bottle manufactures and German beverage industry was performed and compared to rapid extraction tests as well as mathematical migration modelling. In all cases overall and specific migration was close to or below the detection limits of the analytical methods. It gets evident that due to the physical properties of the PET bottle material, the overall and the relevant specific migration limits cannot be exceeded. Only substances on or in the surface of the material may give an impact to the overall migration value which could be tested by fast extraction or surface rinsing tests.en664688journal article