Process ControlPackaging

PET Under the Microscope—A Food Safety View You Can Use

plastic orange juice bottles — Image credit: Freepik

Plastic is often treated as a monolith in public debate, but packaging decisions live or die on specifics. For food and beverage companies, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is one of those specifics that matter. PET is widely used, closely regulated, and important to shelf life, safety, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As public concern over plastic pollution grows, leaders must move beyond broad generalizations and ground decisions about food packaging in science and regulation.

What the Regulators Say

PET's safety in food contact is not assumed; it is regulated. In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorizes PET for food contact under Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations,¹ where its composition, specifications, and limitations are well defined. For recycled PET (rPET), FDA reviews² each recycling process individually and issues a Letter of No Objection (LNO) only when a recycler proves that its process reliably removes contaminants. FDA sets a strict ceiling:³ any migration of a chemical from recycled packaging into food must not result in dietary intake greater than 1.5 micrograms per person per day, a level considered negligible risk.

In Europe, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)⁴ applies the same principle, requiring recycling processes to pass challenge testing before authorization. Health Canada⁵ provides a similar pathway, issuing safety opinions on recycled plastics for food contact.

The practical takeaway for food safety professionals is simple: when PET (virgin or recycled) is produced within these guardrails, regulators deem it safe for food contact. That finding has been reaffirmed for decades across jurisdictions.

Safety and Performance in Real-World Use

Food packaging is not cosmetic; it is a preventive control. PET's clarity, strength, and resistance to moisture and oxygen help protect food from contamination, extend shelf life, and reduce waste. This is essential not only for consumer safety but also for climate goals. Roughly one-third of food in the U.S. is lost or wasted,⁶ driving avoidable greenhouse gas emissions; PET directly helps reduce that footprint.

In emergency or remote settings, where glass or metal are too heavy or fragile, PET's durability and portability make it indispensable for distributing essentials like safe water and nutrition. These attributes save lives—a benefit that is often overlooked when plastics are criticized in the abstract.

Like any other substance, the toxicity of PET depends on the dose. However, PET is an inert substance that is not toxic at relevant exposure levels—e.g., from its use as food packaging material.

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Recyclability and the Reality of Systems

Food companies today must deliver both safety and sustainability. PET is one of the few materials that can credibly do both. Easily recognized by Resin Identification Code (RIC) No. 1,⁷ PET is the most widely recycled plastic, with more than 1.9 billion pounds recovered annually in the U.S.⁸

PET also starts with a built-in environmental advantage—among mainstream beverage container materials, it has the smallest environmental footprint. PET bottles generate less than half the greenhouse gas emissions of aluminum cans and only about one-third that of glass bottles, according to a McKinsey lifecycle analysis.⁹ Incorporating recycled PET strengthens that profile even further, reducing emissions at the resin stage by up to 60 percent.¹⁰

Lightweight, fully recyclable, and with an existing market for recycled content, PET offers a pragmatic path toward lower-carbon, circular packaging.

Microplastics: What We Know and Do Not Know

Microplastics have become a flashpoint in packaging debates, but regulators and scientists make one point clear: PET is not a health risk. FDA's position¹¹ is unambiguous: "Current scientific evidence does not demonstrate that levels of microplastics or nanoplastics detected in foods pose a risk to human health." PET remains fully approved for food contact under these conditions.

Just as important, the science is inconclusive about where microplastics actually originate. A 2025 French beverage study¹² found that glass bottles contained higher levels of particles than PET bottles, with the source traced to paint flaking from metal caps, not the container itself. This demonstrates how uncertain the origins of microplastic contamination are—and that PET may contribute little compared to alternatives.

Adding to the uncertainty, detection methods are not standardized. A recent study claiming to find plastics in human organs was widely criticized¹³ for small sample sizes and potential false positives, including fats and lab gloves misidentified as plastics. Without harmonized testing standards, results vary widely and are difficult to interpret.

The takeaway for food safety professionals is clear: decades of regulatory review and the latest science confirm that PET is among the safest and most reliable food contact materials.

Moving Beyond Plastic Myths

PET is not flawless; no packaging material is. However, its long safety record, rigorous regulatory oversight, and strong sustainability profile make it a material worth defending. The conversation must move beyond vilifying "plastics" as a category and toward differentiating materials based on science.

As the food industry tackles food insecurity, climate change, and waste, PET offers a proven, adaptable, and increasingly circular solution. The challenge is not whether PET is safe—regulators have answered that—but whether companies will design and source it responsibly so that PET's full potential can be realized.

References

Code of Federal Regulations. "Part 177—Indirect Food Additives: Polymers." March 15, 1977. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-177.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). "Submissions on Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) Plastics for Food-Contact Articles." https://hfpappexternal.fda.gov/scripts/fdcc/index.cfm?set=RecycledPlastics.
FDA. Guidance for Industry: Use of Recycled Plastics in Food Packaging (Chemistry Considerations). July 2021. https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/guidance-industry-use-recycled-plastics-food-packaging-chemistry-considerations.
European Commission. European Food Safety Authority. "Plastic Recycling: Recycling of Plastic Intended for Contact with Food." https://food.ec.europa.eu/food-safety/chemical-safety/food-contact-materials/plastic-recycling_en#questions-and-answers.
Health Canada. "Guidelines for Using Recycled Plastics in Food Packaging: Overview." https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/legislation-guidelines/guidance-documents/guidelines-determining-acceptability-use-recycled-plastics-food-packaging-applications.html.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). "Food Waste and its Links to Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change." January 24, 2022. https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/blog/food-waste-and-its-links-greenhouse-gases-and-climate-change.
Kelechava, B. "Resin Identification Codes (RICs), as Specified by ASTM D7611." American National Standards Institute (ANSI). February 21, 2019. https://blog.ansi.org/ansi/resin-identification-codes-rics-astm-d7611/.
National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR). "2023 US PET Bottle Recycling Rate Reaches Highest Level in Decades; Recycled PET Content in US Bottles Reaches Highest Level Ever." December 12, 2024. https://napcor.com/news/2023-pet-bottle-recycling-reach-new-heights/.
McKinsey & Co. "Climate impact of plastics." July 2022. https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/industries/chemicals/our%20insights/climate%20impact%20of%20plastics/climate-impact-of-plastics_vf.pdf.
NAPCOR. "Updated Polyethylene Terephthalate Resin Life Cycle Analysis and Calculator." November 5, 2020. https://napcor.com/news/napcor-releases-updated-pet-resin-lca-calculator/.
FDA. "Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Foods." Current as of July 24, 2024. https://www.fda.gov/food/environmental-contaminants-food/microplastics-and-nanoplastics-foods.
Chaïb, I., P. Doyen, P. Merveillie, A. Dehaut, and G. Duflos. "Microplastics Contaminations in a Set of Beverages Sold in France." Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 144 (August 2025): 107719. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889157525005344.
Science Media Center. "Expert Reaction to a Study Investigating the Accumulation of Microplastics in Human Organs." February 3, 2025. https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-a-study-investigating-the-accumulation-of-microplastics-in-human-organs/

Leslie Patton, Ph.D. is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology (DABT) and a Principal Consultant at ChemReg Compliance Solutions LLC. She specializes in human health risk assessment, particularly in applications related to food contact, food additives, pesticides, consumer products, and cosmetics. She has extensive experience developing food contact notifications (FCNs) and GRAS notices and routinely works with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on behalf of industries making such submissions. She is an expert in 21 CFR compliance issues for food contact substances. She earned her Ph.D. in environmental toxicology from Cornell University.