India Issues Guidelines for Food Contact Recycled PET Plastics

SafeGuardSHardgoodsSep 11, 2025

SG 132/25

India publishes guidance document for recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) for use in food contact materials (FCM).

In March 2025, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) introduced new legislation permitting the use of rPET plastics in FCM and articles, provided they comply with applicable national standards or regulations (SafeGuardS 60/25).

In May 2025, the FSSAI issued ‘Guidelines for acceptance of recycled PET as FCM (FCM-rPET)’ to assist the food contact rPET industry by establishing the criteria for the use of these materials in food contact applications.

Key highlights of the guideline include:

Clarifying that the scope:

Applies to the recycling process of transforming post-consumer food contact PET materials into FCM-rPET resins
Covers the acceptance criteria for using FCM-rPET resins in FCMs
Applies only to recycling technologies approved by FSSAI

Requiring super-clean, melt-in, paste-in or chemical recycling processes to have at least one decontamination step that removes contaminants to a level suitable for FCMs
Detailing the ‘Challenge Test’, ‘Extraction Test’ and ‘Migration Test’ required for validation
Mandating the latest version of the following standards for testing FCM-rPET in NABL ILAC-accredited laboratories:

Indian Standard (IS) 12252 ‘Polyalkylene terephthalates (PET and PBT), their copolymers and list of constituents in raw materials and end products for their safe use in contact with foodstuffs and pharmaceuticals’
IS 9845 ‘Determination of overall migration from food contact plastics’
IS 9833 ‘Pigments and colorants in plastics in contact with foodstuffs and pharmaceuticals’

Describing the acceptance criteria for process input, process validation and process output
Authorizing the use of the FCM-rPET-X symbol and/or labeling information stating: ‘The packaging material is made with recycled PET’
Directing the use of IS 14534:2023 for determining recycled content
Listing the requirements for documentation, including declaration of compliance (DoC), regulatory opinion, supply chain records and application details for a manufacturer’s authorization of FCM-rPET

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We provide comprehensive FCM testing, including migration tests, along with expert guidance on evolving regulations, compliance issues and documentation review. Our expertise ensures your products meet the appropriate territorial regulations for food contact materials and helps pave the way for compliance. Contact us to learn more, or visit our website. In the end, it’s only trusted because it’s tested.

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