PET is a material of choice for packaged food and is becoming widely recycled. Food safety is paramount for our value chain. Analytical methods as well as the reporting of results supporting food safety must be accessible, standardised and widespread so that their communication across the value chain is more effective and reliable.
Moreover, legal requirements apply to the whole value chain with enhanced regulations (EU 2022/1616, EC 10/2011,...) that require regular controls and monitoring. As PET packaging becomes more widely recycled and turns circular, our industry is undergoing a step change and we need to rely on evidence to ensure that this change takes place without impacting food safety.
In acknowledgment of this PETCORE EUROPE created a ‘Lab Cluster’ where all these matters could be discussed to establish standardised analytical methods for the value chain. Initially a group of several associations - PRE, UNESDA, NMWE, EUPC, PET EUROPE and PETCORE EUROPE (known as the PET INdustry Nias Group, PING) created guidelines for such methods. The Lab Cluster intends to go a step further and create ‘industry standards’, with these methods ultimately becoming internationally recognised standards.
To support this goal the Lab Cluster gathers multiple stakeholders including JRC and the EU Commission as well as numerous European laboratories.
