Exposure to styrene from polystyrene (PS) packaging is estimated to be around 12,900 times below the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) acceptable daily intake, according to a new report from the Polystyrene Recycling Alliance (PSRA).
‘Polystyrene: The Safety Record’ brings together scientific and regulatory evidence on the safety of PS packaging, including assessments by the FDA and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
The report states that the FDA’s acceptable daily intake for styrene is 90mg per person per day, while estimated exposure from PS packaging is 0.007mg.
It also highlights EFSA’s June 2025 reassessment of styrene, which the PSRA describes as the authority’s most comprehensive review of the substance in decades. According to the report, EFSA found no evidence of harm from PS packaging at real-world exposure levels.
Distinction between styrene and PS
A central focus of the report is the distinction between styrene and PS. Styrene is the liquid compound used to manufacture PS, while PS is the solid material produced from it.
The report notes that styrene also occurs naturally in foods including strawberries, cinnamon, coffee, peanuts and beef. The PSRA says EFSA has found dietary exposure to styrene from natural food sources to be comparable with exposure that could occur through PS packaging.
It also references the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s classification of styrene as a Group 2A substance, meaning it is considered to probably be carcinogenic to humans. The report notes that the same classification includes exposure associated with red meat and very hot beverages.
The PSRA cites a 2019 risk assessment, published in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, which reviewed more than 30 years of research and reported no meaningful consumer health risk and no consistent evidence linking styrene with cancer in the general population.
Recycled material
Recycled PS is also covered in the report, which notes that recycled material must meet the same food-contact safety requirements as virgin material, and that dissolution-recycled PS resin has been cleared by the FDA for food contact since 2013.
The report links the safety findings with the potential for PS recycling, arguing that the material’s chemical stability is relevant both to its use in food-contact applications and to its recovery through mechanical, dissolution and chemical recycling.
PSRA chair Justin Riney said: “The FDA, EFSA, and decades of independent research have examined this material and reached consistent conclusions. This report makes those conclusions accessible and builds the evidentiary record that stakeholders and policymakers need to make informed decisions.”
The full report can be downloaded here.
In a recent opinion piece for Eco-plastics in Packaging, Riney argued that the plastics industry needs to rethink how it communicates its value and responds to public concerns. He also pointed out that scientific evidence alone is not enough to change perceptions, and called for a more visible and proactive approach to building trust in plastics.
