PETCORE EUROPE has initiated a new project named GeNi to improve the monitoring of food contact substances within the PET value chain. In collaboration with KÖR, this initiative aims to enhance the evidence base for food safety and human health by addressing inconsistencies in testing and reporting practices across the industry.
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Currently, there are no international standards for the testing of food contact substances, allowing for varying methods and approaches among laboratories. This lack of uniformity has led to fragmented data collection, complicating the industry's ability to gauge the presence of various substances in PET packaging and recycled PET.
GeNi seeks to create a centralized, neutral hub for interlaboratory data, enabling the aggregation of testing results for benchmarking performance, identifying best practices, and comparing testing approaches. PETCORE EUROPE emphasizes that while standardization is a goal, the primary aim is to build a reliable evidence base for informed food safety decisions.
As the use of recycled materials in packaging rises, understanding the risks associated with materials in the recycling process becomes vital for manufacturers to ensure compliance with food-contact regulations. PETCORE EUROPE notes that hundreds of substances in plastics are increasingly scrutinized by regulators, consumers, and NGOs. The focus on traceability and risk assessment is heightened by growing recycled-content targets.
GeNi will serve as an industry-wide platform, involving laboratories, technical experts, brand owners, and recyclers, with PETCORE EUROPE coordinating the initiative and KÖR managing the collection, anonymization, and analysis of testing data. Raphaël Jaumotte from PETCORE EUROPE commented that the initiative will help clarify substance presence across the PET value chain, enabling earlier identification of potential risks.
Bernd Schwarz, chief chemical officer at KÖR, expressed that the initiative aims to transform fragmented testing data into a collective understanding of packaging components and necessary actions.
For PET manufacturers, recyclers, and food and drink producers, GeNi's implications extend beyond laboratory tests. A unified evidence base could facilitate early detection of issues, improve comparability of test results, and provide a robust foundation for food-contact safety decisions. PETCORE EUROPE advocates for using collaborative data to proactively identify issues rather than waiting for regulatory measures.