Context

CSIR - Central Food Technological Research Institute(CFTRI) study reveals that Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottles are safe.

About

• PET is a highly valued packaging material because it is strong yet lightweight, non-reactive, economical, and shatterproof.
• PET is a polymer of ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid.
• PET was first synthesized in the U.S. during the mid-1940s by DuPont chemists searching for polymers that could be used to make new textile fibers.
• Till now, it was a common perception that PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) bottles leach harmful chemicals when exposed to high temperatures.
• In order to ascertain the chemical effect of PET, CFTRI conducted a detailed analysis of PET Bottles.

Findings

• Bisphenol-A (BPA), a compound used in polycarbonate, was below its detection limit of 0.02 mg/kg.
• All the metals used in the manufacturing of PET were below their detection limits (BDL) of 0.001 mg/kg.
• They were also below the EU regulation norms of the “specific migration limit”.

CSIR−Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI)

• It is a constituent laboratory of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, which came into existence in 1950.
• It is located in Mysore, Karnataka.
• It comes under the Ministry of Science & Technology.
• The institute develops technologies to increase efficiency and reduce post-harvest losses, add convenience, increase export, find new sources of food products, integrate human resources in food industries and reduce costs to farmers.

Note: The specific migration limit (SML) is the maximum permitted quantity of a specific substance that can migrate from a food packaging material or food container into food.