Safety

 

What safety benefits does plastic offer?

 

	Shatterproof — doesn’t break into dangerous shards when dropped. Particularly useful for products handled by children, used in the shower or in public venues.
	Hygienic — this makes it ideal for packaging food, medicines and pharmaceuticals.
	Secure — perfect for tamperevident and child resistant items.
	Durable — this keeps the contents of the packaging dry and protected on its way to the consumer.
	Lightweight — easy to lift and carry.

 

Download  our 2018 Plastic Packaging FAQs 

Is plastic in contact with food safe?

 

Yes, plastic in contact with food is safe, as long as it is compliant with the requirements of food contact and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) legislation. All materials in contact with food, even natural components of plants such as glycoalkaloids in potatoes, have the potential to bring about changes in food and drink in terms of texture, taste or smell — or indeed be harmful to health. For this reason, food contact materials are closely regulated in accordance with EU and UK laws.

To ensure safety, we have well-regulated migration limits and good manufacturing guides and protocols set out. The three pillars of EU law in this area include:

1. EC 1935/2004 applies to all materials in contact with food.
2. EC 10/2011 and subsequent revisions sometimes known as the PIM (Plastics Implementation Measure). Only applies to plastic.
3. EC 2023/2006 GMP applies to all materials in contact with food.

GMP requires quality measures to be in place to ensure that products are consistent, controlled and compliant. These measures relate to raw material specifications, traceability, quality control, manufacturing, storage and transportation.

 

What is plastic?

 

'Plastic' is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic, semi-synthetic and bio derived polymer materials used in a huge — and growing — range of applications. Plastics are safe, hygienic, secure, lightweight, versatile and durable. They also take fewer resources to produce than alternative materials.

Plastic packaging is estimated to account for just 1.5% of oil and gas use (Plastipedia). The chemical building blocks for plastics raw materials are traditionally derived from byproducts of the refining process that originally would have had no other uses. Plastics can also be made from biomass, including the waste products of food production.

 

 

​Do PET plastic bottles cause cancer?

 

No, this is a myth — there is no evidence to indicate that using PET plastic bottles causes cancer. These stories are concerned with what are known as 'endocrine-disrupting chemicals' such as bisphenol A (BPA). However, these are not found in PET bottles.

Source: Bisphenol A. European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)

If used in the manufacture of bottles, the question to ask is whether they can migrate out of the containers and into food and drink. If they can, it's important to know whether they would do so in any quantities that would cause harm. Some studies have shown that minute amounts of BPA can transfer from packaging — but the levels of these are so low that they cause no harm to humans.

Source: No consumer health risk from bisphenol A exposure. EFSA

Source: Bisphenol-A (BPA) frequently asked questions, Food Standards Agency

The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has examined the effects of BPA and states that the level at which people typically consume BPA poses no risk. The FSA has also concluded that even when consumed at much higher levels than would typically be found, BPA is rapidly absorbed, detoxified and eliminated by the human body.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has addressed concerns by reducing the permitted tolerable daily intake (TDI) – the stated quantity of a chemical substance consumers may ingest over their lifetime without posing a risk to their health - and has found that current exposure to BPA from food contact materials is considerably below even this reduced figure, and have concluded therefore that this is not a health concern.

Where chemicals are present in plastic products they adhere to strict limits on their transfer to food. As mentioned, legislation is designed to mitigate adverse health effects and provide safety to consumers and workers.

UK companies ensure that they comply with strict standards set by the UK and the EU, and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and European Food Standards Authority regulate the limited use of specific chemicals through legislation such as REACH and Food Contact regulations.

Source: Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation & restriction of CHemicals (REACH), Health and Safety Executive

 

 

What other legislation regulates the packaging industry?

Legislation in various areas ensures that packaging and films are safe, produced to a high standard and contribute to a more sustainable future.

a) Food contact legislation

See above: Is plastic in contact with food safe?

b) Packaging waste directive

The EU Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (94/62/EC) aims to provide high level environmental protection by managing packaging waste and reducing its impact on the environment and ensuring the functioning of the internal market by avoiding obstacles to trade and distortion and restriction of competition. This legislation requires that packaging is kept to the minimum volume and weight necessary for safety, hygiene and consumer acceptance.

c) Recycling targets

Packaging recycling targets are created by the UK government with the aim of ensuring companies comply with EU recycling targets. In 2012, the plastics packaging recycling target was 32%. In the 2016 budget, the UK government announced that packaging recycling targets for 2016 will be 49%. This target was successfully achieved in 2016. This will increase by 2% each year until 2020, to 57%. The current Circular Economy proposal in the European Union is for future targets for recycling of plastic packaging to be set at 55% in 2025. The overall packaging waste target is set at 65% in 2025 and 75% in 2030.

d) Packaging Waste Recovery Notes (PRNs)

The EU Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (94/62/EC) aims to provide high level environmental protection by managing packaging waste and reducing its
impact on the environment. It also aims to ensure the functioning of the internal market by avoiding obstacles to trade and distortion and restriction of competition. In the UK, this is implemented by the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulation 2007.

Larger producers of packaging are required to ensure that a proportion of the packaging they produce is recovered and recycled. Targets for recycling are set by the UK government. Producers fulfil this responsibility by collecting evidence that an equivalent amount of packaging has been recycled. The evidence they collect comes from registered
reprocessers (when recycling occurs in the UK) and exporters (for packaging recycled overseas). The evidence they collect is called a Packaging waste Recovery Note (PRN) or a
Packaging waste Export Recovery Note (PERN). The effect of this system in practice is to provide some additional funding from the producers to the recycling industry with the aim of improving recycling. Since the scheme began, packaging recycling has improved significantly. With over 60% of packaging recycled, the UK is one of the best performers in Europe.

Source: Advisory Committee on Packaging Task Force 2 – PRN Transparency PRN System Guide.

For more information on PRNs, please see the Environment Agency's Guide to the PRN System (available under Activity).