The report, published earlier this week by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), underlines the need for a discussion on “globally harmonised standards” as the use of recycled plastic in food packaging continues to grow.
In its report, titled ‘Food safety implications of recycled plastics and alternative food contact materials’, the FAO says that as the share of recycled plastic used in food contact materials (FCMs) continues to grow over the coming years and decades, serious questions must be raised around food chemical safety.
The FAO urges industry not to minimise health concerns stemming from potential chemical contamination and migration from FCMs into food in pursuit of environmental objectives.
“We want to recycle more plastic, but we also want to make sure that by solving one problem we don’t create new problems,” said Corinna Hawkes, director of the agrifood systems and food safety division at FAO.
“Food safety must be a central consideration in the transition towards more sustainable agrifood systems and food consumption patterns.”
A key area of concern is centred around bio‑based FCMs, derived from natural and renewable resources such as corn, sugarcane and cassava, which can contain pesticides, natural toxins and allergen residue.
Additional concerns also arise from the use of new intentionally added substances, such as nanomaterials, which are used to improve material performance or enable active packaging functions.
To better mitigate these risks, the report calls for the effective cleaning and removal of chemicals during plastic recycling processes specifically designed for FCMs.
The FAO also spotlights the current lack of validated analytical methods for the detection of micro‑ and nanoplastics in food and beverages, which has so far prevented regulatory agencies from determining a clear risk to human health.
The report’s findings are expected to inform discussions at the Codex Alimentarius Commission, an intergovernmental body established in 1963 by the FAO and the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop international food standards, guidelines and codes to ensure food safety and facilitate trade.
Ultimately, the report finds that harmonising global regulatory frameworks would not only support robust, science‑based risk assessments to ensure the safe production and use of recycled FCMs, but would also contribute to achieving current and future international objectives for reducing plastic waste.
