September 15, 2026 12:38

PolyCert Europe has launched PolyCert Food, a new voluntary third-party certification scheme for recycled plastic materials and articles intended for food contact.

The scheme aims to provide operators across the value chain with a harmonised tool for verifying, through audits, compliance with the applicable requirements of Regulation (EU) 2022/1616 on recycled plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food.

Certification is granted to individual production sites by independent bodies. The certification cycle lasts three years, beginning with an on-site audit, followed by annual surveillance audits and concluding with a new assessment for recertification.

Audits cover good manufacturing practices, critical control point management, quality assurance and batch traceability throughout the recycling chain, back to the first point at which collected plastic waste is sorted. Recycled content is calculated in accordance with EN 15343.

Certified companies are listed in a public register managed by PolyCert Europe.

The new scheme operates within the framework established by Regulation (EU) 2022/1616, which governs the processes, technologies and installations used to produce recycled plastics intended for food contact and provides for specific official controls on recycling installations. Voluntary certification can therefore support evidence of compliance but does not replace the authorisations, registrations and controls required under European legislation.

PolyCert Europe was established in 2020 to harmonise recycled plastic content certification schemes across Europe. The platform brings together 11 recognised schemes and 14 accredited certification bodies.

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