India allows use of recycled PET in food contact materials

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) amended the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Regulations 2018, allowing for the use of recycled plastics in food contact materials (FCM) with certain restrictions. The update clarifies the ambiguity caused by an amendment to India's plastic waste management rules published last September. The amendment permitted the use of recycled plastic in FCMs, in contrast to the 2018 packaging regulations, which prohibited its use. The amendment serves as a stopgap measure until the draught Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Amendment Regulations 2022 are completed. However, it is unknown how long it will take for the new legislation to take effect.

In 2016, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India prohibited the use of recycled plastics in food contact. The recent change has "shocked experts and environmental activists," according to The Times of India. According to Vijay Habbu of the Institute of Chemical Technology, when a plastic product is recycled, "there is some degradation of the plastic with the generation of contaminants or impurities." Most of the time, the contaminants are unknown. As a result, there are no reliable test methods for detecting and determining impurities that can seriously endanger human life and the environment."