Journal article

Publication year: 2023

Journal: EFSA Journal

Volume number: 21

Issue number: 8

ISSN: 1831-4732

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2023.8156

Publisher: Wiley

Abstract: 
The EFSA Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes and Processing Aids (CEP) assessed the safety of the recycling process Langgeng (EU register number RECYC293), which uses the Starlinger deCON technology. The input material is hot 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 preheated before being submitted to solid-state polycondensation (SSP) in a continuous reactor at high temperature under vacuum and gas flow. Having examined the challenge test provided, the Panel concluded that the preheating (step 2) and the decontamination in the SSP reactor (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, pressure and residence time for steps 2 and 3, reduced gas flow rate for step 2 and gas volume/PET mass ratio for step 3. It was demonstrated that this recycling process is able to ensure that the 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, 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.

Harvard Citation style: EFSA CEP Panel, Lambré, C., Barat Baviera, J., Bolognesi, C., Chesson, A., Cocconcelli, P., et al. (2023) Safety assessment of the process Langgeng, based on the Starlinger deCON technology, used to recycle post-consumer PET into food contact materials, EFSA Journal, 21(8), Article e08156. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2023.8156

APA Citation style: EFSA CEP Panel, Lambré, C., Barat Baviera, J., Bolognesi, C., Chesson, A., Cocconcelli, P., Crebelli, R., Gott, D., Grob, K., Mengelers, M., Mortensen, A., Rivière, G., Steffensen, I., Tlustos, C., Van Loveren, H., Vernis, L., Zorn, H., Dudler, V., Milana, M., ...Lampi, E. (2023). Safety assessment of the process Langgeng, based on the Starlinger deCON technology, used to recycle post-consumer PET into food contact materials. EFSA Journal. 21(8), Article e08156. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2023.8156