FFG Project Cornet: Polycycle – Project to develop a test strategy for comprehensive safety assessment of plastic polymer recyclates

Project duration: 2020 to 2021

According to the European Union's circular economy strategy, all plastic packaging must be recyclable or reusable from 2030. This puts pressure on the plastics processing industry to develop appropriate packaging solutions for the food sector as well.

At the moment, the EFSA has hardly authorised any recycling processes, with the exception of PET. Potentially harmful substances could migrate from the polymers into the food they contain and thus pose a risk to consumers. At present, not all possible contaminants can be covered by chemical analysis. Unidentified substances are assumed to be worst-case: directly DNA-reactive genotoxins. Therefore, the use of post-consumer recyclates for the production of food contact materials is currently not yet possible for some very frequently used polymer groups, in particular polyolefins (polyethylene/polypropylene). The Cornet/FFG Polycycle project was launched to develop a test strategy and generate data to enable the authorisation of new recycling processes, including for the food sector.

To meet this challenge, FH Campus Wien is currently working on a test battery focussing on the detection of DNA-reactive genotoxins. The strategy is based on ruling out the presence of these contaminants using in vitro bioassays, thereby supplementing existing analytical methods. The so-called Ames assay in particular has proven to be extremely promising for this application. The greatest challenge here is to improve the detection limits of this assay and to enable the detection of critical substances in very low concentration ranges. In addition to this, sample preparation methods are being developed that should enable greater concentration of the critical analytes. Another important aspect is the software-supported simulation of migration, which should enable a realistic estimation of target concentrations.

1. Development and validation of a testing strategy for DNA-reactive carcinogens in recycled plastics:
   • Calculation of required detection limits based on migration modelling and consumer exposure estimates
   • Extraction methods and sample preparation to enable highly sensitive testing with bioassays
   • Supplementary analytical investigations
2. Analysis of selected packaging-relevant materials (PE, PP, PET, PS) with in vitro bioassays and analytical methods (GC, HPLC-MS)
3. Enabling the use of polymer recyclates without having to compromise on safety

Direct contact with the funding organisations is handled by ecoplus. FH Campus Wien has a contract as a third-party service provider with ecoplus for the allocated funding amount.

Partners for the project realisation:
IVLV - Industrial Association for Food Technology and Packaging e.V.
ecoplus - The Business Agency of Lower Austria GmbH
OFI - Austrian Research Institute for Chemistry and Technology
Fraunhofer IVV - Fraunhofer Society for the Promotion of Applied Research e.V. - Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging

Sustainability and Design