Meaning
Regulatory compliance frameworks establish strict safety standards and authorization protocols for recycled plastic materials intended for food contact applications within the European market. Under efsa regulation 2022/1616, decontamination processes used to recycle post-consumer plastics must demonstrate decontamination efficiency through formal challenge tests and continuous monitoring. The rules cover decontamination technology registration, traceability system audits and input scrap quality controls.
Conforming recycling facilities must prove that residual chemical contaminants remain below calculated toxicological thresholds.
Decontamination Audit
Independent audits evaluate recycler operations to verify that decontamination equipment operates within validated operational parameters. Compliance with efsa regulation 2022/1616 requires comprehensive batch documentation showing input sorting purity and operating vacuum levels. Non-compliant batches cannot be sold for food contact packaging manufacturing.
Challenge Test
Decontamination efficacy is proven by spiking virgin polymer with surrogate chemical contaminants prior to recycling process trials. Passing the challenge test under efsa regulation 2022/1616 demonstrates that the cleaning technology reduces volatile organic contaminants below five parts per billion. Chemical testing validates that recycled polyethylene terephthalate meets safety criteria.
Traceability Compliance
Supply chain tracking links finished recycled resin batches directly to their post-consumer plastic feedstock sources. Adhering to efsa regulation 2022/1616 ensures full transparency from collection to final converted package. Certificate documentation must accompany every commercial resin shipment.
