This scientific opinion of the EFSA Panel on food contact materials, enzymes, flavourings and processing aids deals with the safety evaluation of the recycling process RPET Nosinyec, EC register number RECYC082. The input of the process is washed and dried PET flakes originating from collected post-consumer PET bottles containing no more than 5% of PET from non-food consumer applications. Through this process, washed and dried flakes are extruded into pellets, pre-crystallised then pre-crystallised pellets are fed into a reactor at high temperature under vacuum in which they are further crystallised and solid-state polymerised (SSP). After having examined the challenge test provided, the Panel concluded that the two steps, the extrusion and the decontamination in the batch SSP reactor are the critical steps that determine the decontamination efficiency of the process. The operating parameters to control the performance of these critical steps are well defined and are the temperature, the pressure and the residence time both for the extrusion (step 2) and the SSP (step 4). The operating parameters of these steps in the process are at least as severe as those obtained from the challenge test. Under these conditions, it was demonstrated that the recycling process is able to ensure that the level of migration of potential unknown contaminants into food is below a conservatively modelled migration of 0.1 μg/kg food. Therefore the Panel concluded that the recycled PET obtained from this process intended for the manufacture of materials and articles for contact with all types of foodstuffs for long term storage at room temperature, with or without hotfill is not considered of safety concern
