FAO Warns of Food Safety Risks as Recycled Plastics Expand in Food Packaging

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has raised concerns over the increasing use of recycled plastics in food contact materials, warning that growth in the sector must be matched by stronger, globally harmonized safety standards.

In a report published by FAO, the agency said recycled plastics can help reduce environmental impacts from packaging waste but may also introduce chemical safety risks if recycling systems and regulatory controls are not sufficiently robust.

The report comes as the global food packaging market continues to expand, driven by demand for processed foods, ready-made meals and packaged beverages. FAO estimates the market was worth more than $500 billion in 2024 and is on track to exceed $800 billion by 2030.

Food contact materials (FCMs), which include packaging used for direct contact with food, are widely seen as essential for extending shelf life and reducing food loss. However, FAO noted that the widespread use of plastics with long degradation cycles has contributed to rising waste volumes, prompting increased interest in recycled alternatives.

While global plastic recycling rates remain below 10%, FAO said the share of recycled materials used in packaging is expected to grow, bringing new attention to potential contamination risks and chemical migration into food products.

“We want to recycle more plastic, but we also want to make sure that by solving one problem we don’t create new problems,” said Corinna Hawkes, director of the Agrifood Systems and Food Safety Division at FAO. “Food safety must be a central consideration in the transition towards more sustainable agrifood systems and food consumption patterns.”

The report highlighted risks linked to potential chemical residues in recycled feedstocks, including pesticides, additives and other substances that may not be fully removed during processing. It also pointed to emerging concerns around new materials such as nanomaterials used in advanced packaging applications.

FAO called for improved cleaning and decontamination processes in plastic recycling systems used for food-grade applications, as well as stronger sorting mechanisms to separate food-contact plastics from other waste streams.

The agency also pointed to gaps in analytical methods for detecting microplastics and nanoplastics in food, noting that the absence of standardized testing frameworks continues to limit regulatory clarity on health impacts.

Regulatory fragmentation across markets was identified as another challenge, with FAO warning that inconsistent standards could create trade barriers as the use of recycled plastics in food packaging expands.

The findings are expected to feed into ongoing discussions under the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which develops global food safety guidelines jointly led by FAO and the World Health Organization.

FAO said international harmonization of food contact material regulations would support both safer use of recycled plastics and broader efforts to reduce global plastic waste.

Source: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

SUNSHINE Spotlight: FAO is urging stronger global harmonization of food-contact plastic standards as recycled materials expand into packaging applications despite unresolved chemical safety uncertainties.