As per the regulations notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, consumer product companies will need to ensure 30 per cent of recycled plastic is used to make category-1 packaging
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has notified guidelines specifying the accepted criteria for food-grade recycled PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) which can be used as food contact material by beverage makers. The guidelines, which specify various aspects of r-PET recycling, also introduced a new logo that will need to be displayed on labels along with information on the percentage of recycled PET material used in the packaging material. The food safety authority has said that this logo has been developed to ensure “easy identification” and “for the benefits of consumers”.
As per the regulations notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, consumer product companies will need to ensure 30 per cent of recycled plastic is used to make category-1 packaging, which includes rigid plastics used in PET bottles, by FY26. These regulations came into effect from April 1.
FSSAI said these guidelines “pertain to process and operations” involved in recycling of PET materials, which will be used as food contact materials. The guidelines also specify the “acceptance criteria” for FCM-rPET resin (Food contact material-recycled PET). It added the guidelines will apply only to recycling technologies approved by FSSAI.
FSSAI defines FCM-rPET as, “post consumer food grade PET resin that has undergone a validated decontamination process” as per norms set by national and international regulatory authorities to “achieve specified purity for directly holding food.”
In terms of “markings and labelling, the guidelines stated that the food contact material made of FCM-rPET will be required to carry the specified logo along with a declaration stating, “…the packaging material is made with recycled PET”. Sources said that the specific logo for r-PET used in food products has also been developed to identify the r-PET packaging is safe and sustainable.
The guidelines have defined various processes including super-clean recycling process and melt-in recycling process among others which will be acceptable for producing recycled PET as food contact material. It added that conventional recycling processes will not be allowed. “Such processes should not be used for manufacturing food contact materials as it does not have the decontamination process step,” it added.
The guidelines have also defined the criteria for testing as well as documentation parameters that various stakeholders including food business operators will need to adhere to for using recycled PET materials in food applications.
Last month, the Food Authority had organised a national consultation with various stakeholders guidelines, which have now been finalised.
These guidelines come at a time when several r-PET manufactures are awaiting approvals from FSSAI for their facilities; the F&B industry has raised concerns about lack of enough supply of approved r-PET material to meet the demands of beverage companies.
Published on May 27, 2025
As per the regulations notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, consumer product companies will need to ensure 30 per cent of recycled plastic is used to make category-1 packaging
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has notified guidelines specifying the accepted criteria for food-grade recycled PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) which can be used as food contact material by beverage makers. The guidelines, which specify various aspects of r-PET recycling, also introduced a new logo that will need to be displayed on labels along with information on the percentage of recycled PET material used in the packaging material. The food safety authority has said that this logo has been developed to ensure “easy identification” and “for the benefits of consumers”.
As per the regulations notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, consumer product companies will need to ensure 30 per cent of recycled plastic is used to make category-1 packaging, which includes rigid plastics used in PET bottles, by FY26. These regulations came into effect from April 1.
FSSAI said these guidelines “pertain to process and operations” involved in recycling of PET materials, which will be used as food contact materials. The guidelines also specify the “acceptance criteria” for FCM-rPET resin (Food contact material-recycled PET). It added the guidelines will apply only to recycling technologies approved by FSSAI.
FSSAI defines FCM-rPET as, “post consumer food grade PET resin that has undergone a validated decontamination process” as per norms set by national and international regulatory authorities to “achieve specified purity for directly holding food.”
In terms of “markings and labelling, the guidelines stated that the food contact material made of FCM-rPET will be required to carry the specified logo along with a declaration stating, “…the packaging material is made with recycled PET”. Sources said that the specific logo for r-PET used in food products has also been developed to identify the r-PET packaging is safe and sustainable.
The guidelines have defined various processes including super-clean recycling process and melt-in recycling process among others which will be acceptable for producing recycled PET as food contact material. It added that conventional recycling processes will not be allowed. “Such processes should not be used for manufacturing food contact materials as it does not have the decontamination process step,” it added.
The guidelines have also defined the criteria for testing as well as documentation parameters that various stakeholders including food business operators will need to adhere to for using recycled PET materials in food applications.
Last month, the Food Authority had organised a national consultation with various stakeholders guidelines, which have now been finalised.
These guidelines come at a time when several r-PET manufactures are awaiting approvals from FSSAI for their facilities; the F&B industry has raised concerns about lack of enough supply of approved r-PET material to meet the demands of beverage companies.
Published on May 27, 2025
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It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution
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