Regulatory Compliance
European Union legislation establishes strict safety requirements for recycled plastics intended for food packaging applications. The regulation designated as EU 2022/1616 defines the conditions under which recycled polymers can be legally integrated into food contact materials. It applies directly to plastic barrier layers laminated onto paperboard cups, plates or tray systems.
Under this framework, converters must source recycled materials only from authorized decontamination processes that have received positive evaluations from the European Food Safety Authority. This legal structure maintains public health protection while encouraging circular material flows.
Decontamination Standard
Recycling facilities must operate validated cleaning technologies that reduce chemical contaminants to safe levels. Compliance with EU 2022/1616 demands continuous monitoring of process temperature, pressure and residence time. These physical parameters ensure that volatile organic compounds and heavy metals are removed from the polymer matrix.
Regular challenge tests verify that the recycled output meets food-grade purity.
Safety Threshold
Packaging converters must ensure that migrate substances do not exceed toxicological limits. The guidelines within EU 2022/1616 require migration testing on final packaging structures to verify that recycled polymer barrier layers prevent contaminant migration into food. This testing evaluates chemical transfer under simulated warm and cold storage conditions.
This verification protects consumer health in everyday applications.
