Safety assessment of the process Kunststof Recycling Nederland (KRN), used to recycle high density polyethylene box pallets for use as food contact materials

EFSA Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes and Processing Aids (CEP); Claude Lambré; José Manuel Barat Baviera; Claudia Bolognesi; Andrew Chesson; Pier Sandro Cocconcelli; Riccardo Crebelli; David Michael Gott; Konrad Grob; Marcel Mengelers; Alicja Mortensen; Gilles Rivière; Inger-Lise Steffensen; Christina Tlustos; Henk Van Loveren; Laurence Vernis; Holger Zorn; Vincent Dudler; Maria Rosaria Milana; Constantine Papaspyrides; Maria de Fátima Tavares Poças; Alexandros Lioupis; Evgenia Lampi

doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2022.7362

Safety assessment of the process Kunststof Recycling Nederland (KRN), used to recycle high density polyethylene box pallets for use as food contact materials

EFSA J. 2022 Jun 10;20(6):e07362. doi: 10.2903/j.efsa.2022.7362. eCollection 2022 Jun.

Abstract

The EFSA Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes and Processing Aids (CEP) assessed the safety of the recycling process Kunststof Recycling Nederland (KRN) (EU register number RECYC251). The input consists of box pallets made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) originating from a closed and controlled product loop for packaging of meat. Flakes are used to produce new box pallets for food contact. The Panel considered that the management system put in place to provide full traceability from the input to the final product and to ensure compliance of the origin of the input with Commission Regulation (EC) No 282/2008 is critical. According to the applicant, the input of the process KRN originates from a product loop which is in closed and controlled chain, designed to ensure that only materials and articles that have been intended for food contact are used and that contamination can be ruled out when run under the conditions described by the applicant. The Panel concluded that the recycling process KRN is suitable to produce recycled HDPE box pallets intended to be used in contact with refrigerated or frozen, packed or unpacked meat.

Keywords: KRN; Kunststof Recycling Nederland; box pallet; closed loop; food contact materials; high‐density polyethylene (HDPE); plastic; recycling process; safety assessment.