Raising the Bar: EFSA approval for EREMA’s PET recycling technology

2025-12-17 2:32 min Food, Sustainability & Circular Economy, rPET & PET Flakes

Ansfelden, Austria

Ensuring compliance with stricter standards for recycled PET is becoming a key priority for the industry. With the introduction of the regulation 1616/2022 and the PPWR on its way, the European Union has raised the bar for food-contact compliance, also in PET recycling. For EREMA, this was an opportunity to reaffirm what our technologies have always stood for: uncompromising safety, proven performance, and readiness for the future. The EREMA technologies VACUREMA® Basic and Advanced, as well as VACUNITE® received positive EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) opinions in accordance with the 1616/2022 regulation.

Recycled PET is a key element of sustainable packaging strategies across Europe. As regulatory frameworks evolve, the industry faces increasing pressure to produce high-quality output while ensuring full compliance for food-contact applications.

Regulation 1616/2022 sets stricter standards for food-grade rPET

With regulation 1616/2022, the European Commission introduces more stringent requirements for decontamination efficiency and process validation. While previous approvals under regulation 282/2008 remain valid, this sets higher expectations for recycled PET used in food packaging. Food-grade rPET is particularly relevant in light of the upcoming EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which will require 30% recycled content in contact-sensitive PET packaging by 2030.

“The updated requirements set stricter standards for the quality of recycled PET and require comprehensive validation to demonstrate compliance. Therefore, it was clear to us that we wanted our PET recycling technologies to be validated under the 1616/2022 regulation, even though confirmation under the 282/2008 regulation remains valid”, says Laura Probst, Process Engineer for Food Safety at EREMA. Recently conducted challenge tests have confirmed the outstanding decontamination performance of EREMA’s VACUREMA® systems and unveiled the optimisation of certain process parameters.

Four positive opinions under 1616/2022 for VACUREMA® technology

EREMA has transferred and expanded its technologies validated under regulation 282/2008 to the stricter regulation 1616/2022. This step underlines the company’s commitment to meeting the highest standards and providing customers with future-proof solutions.

These EREMA technologies have received positive opinions by EFSA based on regulation 1616/2022 for PET recycling:

VACUREMA® Basic – with dedicated opinions for bottle and sheet applications.
VACUREMA® Advanced – featuring a second reactor with crystallization dryer for additional IV build-up.
VACUNITE® – combining VACUREMA® technology with vacuum-assisted Solid State Polycondensation (SSP) under nitrogen for top IV stability and colour values.

Thanks to SafeFlake vacuum pretreatment and EcoGentle® plasticising technology, these systems deliver consistent output quality. The result is reliable decontamination, stable intrinsic viscosity (IV), and minimal thermal stress – key factors for food-grade compliance.

The new opinions confirm that EREMA technology complies with the latest standards. Furthermore, the separation of bottle and sheet applications in specific opinions makes things easier for customers. “This distinction provides clarity and reduces complexity for companies involved in the production of PET sheet”, explains Laura.

(Photo credit: EREMA)

Challenge tests: Confirming compliance under real-world conditions

To secure the confirmation, EREMA carried out extensive challenge tests in collaboration with an independent institute. These tests simulate worst-case contamination scenarios by deliberately contaminating PET flakes with a defined cocktail of chemicals. The material is then processed on the VACUREMA® or VACUNITE® systems, and samples of input material, melt, and granulate are analysed to calculate decontamination performance.

(Photo credit: EREMA)

“Planning these tests is a complex task,” explains Laura Probst. “We define contamination levels, sampling points, and process parameters to reflect real-world production. Every detail matters because EFSA requires full traceability and proof of decontamination efficiency.” The results confirm what customers have long experienced in practice: outstanding cleaning performance and process stability. “Our priority was to demonstrate compliance under realistic production conditions, so customers can be confident that the process meets the strictest food-contact standards,” adds Laura.

All opinions were submitted by EREMA. This approach ensures that the technology itself is validated and can now be licensed by customers globally. As a result, customers operating approved VACUREMA® or VACUNITE® systems can produce food-safe rPET without additional validation steps.

Looking Ahead

With regulation 1616/2022 compliance secured, EREMA customers are fully prepared for the upcoming PPWR targets, including 30% recycled content in contact-sensitive PET packaging by 2030. Our technologies combine regulatory compliance, energy efficiency, and process stability – ensuring that sustainability and safety go hand in hand.

www.erema.com

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Raising the Bar: EFSA approval for EREMA’s PET recycling technology

Regulation 1616/2022 sets stricter standards for food-grade rPET

Four positive opinions under 1616/2022 for VACUREMA® technology

Challenge tests: Confirming compliance under real-world conditions

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