A recycled food-contact material is a material made partly or wholly from recovered or previously used material and intended for use in contact with food.
Recycling can conserve resources and reduce waste, but recycled materials may contain substances originating from previous uses, contamination, printing inks, adhesives, additives, or the recycling process itself. The suitability of a recycled material for food contact therefore depends on the recycling process, the source material, purification or decontamination, and intended conditions of use.
Some materials can be recycled into food-contact applications only when appropriate controls demonstrate that the resulting material meets applicable safety requirements.
QUICK FACT
Recycling does not automatically make a material unsuitable for food contact; it means that its previous history may need to be considered.
COMMONLY CONFUSED WITH
- Recyclable: describes whether a material can potentially be recycled; it does not mean that the resulting recycled material is suitable for food contact.
- Food-grade: describes suitability for specified food-related uses and does not simply mean that a material contains recycled content.
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