When it comes to finding and creating plastic food packaging, it’s vital to understand whether a plastic is considered to be food-safe or not. A food-safe plastic resin has been certified approved safe for contact with food by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These plastics are known as food contact substances (FCS).
The FDA defines a food contact substance as being any substance that is to be used in materials created for manufacturing, packing, packaging, holding, and transporting foods. The following is a look at the most common plastic resins approved as being safe for food contact by the FDA.
Polyethylene terephthalate is commonly used in plastics that are used for food contact. It’s found in everything from 2-liter bottles to peanut butter jars and salad dressing bottles. If you find a single-serving bottle then there’s a good chance that it is made using PET. PET containers can be treated to be microwavable safe and can be used as containers for take-out or single-serving food trays in cafeterias and fast food places.
The FDA has approved the use of both virgin (untreated) and post-consumer recycled (PCR) PET containers for contact with food. PET has been tested and studied completely for negative health effects and has been proven to have none. So don’t worry at all about any PET product.
