Petcore Europe has launched a new hub that brings together testing data from the plastics supply chain in a bid to collectively monitor food-contact substances and address gaps in ‘food safety knowledge’.
The initiative, called GeNi, will provide a platform to share interlaboratory data that will enable consistent, harmonised and comparable testing methods and identify best practices, the Brussels-based European association, which represents the full PET value chain, said.
According to the body, no international standards are currently in place, with laboratories traditionally operating in silos and using different methods and approaches.
This makes it harder to identify potential food safety risks early at a time when hundreds of substances in plastics are under increasing scrutiny from regulators, consumers and NGOs, Petcore Europe added.
Food-contact data and analysis
It said the GeNi hub, which will give labs, experts, brand owners and recyclers the opportunity to share and analyse data on food-contact substances on a central platform operated by industrial testing and compliance services firm KÖR, would provide ‘proactive insights’.
“GeNi is a testament to what we can achieve when we work together,” said Raphaël Jaumotte, technical manager at Petcore Europesaid.
“By bringing our collective testing data together, we can build a clearer picture of what is present across the PET value chain, identify potential risks earlier and make better-informed decisions that improve food safety and support human health.”
Bernd Schwarz, chief chemical officer, added: “At KÖR, we believe that data should be a bridge, not a barrier. GeNi gives the PET industry the tools to turn fragmented data into a collective understanding of what is in our packaging, and what we need to do about it.”
