PET Bottle Antimony Clarified: China Beverage Industry Association Emphasizes National Limits and Scientific Testing
The antimony level in PET bottles—and how much antimony may migrate into the product—is governed by strict ceilings under China's relevant national standards. The association offers the following clarification on antimony-related questions involving PET bottles:
- For plastic food packaging containers, manufacturing processes that rely on antimony catalysts have gained broad use and recognition across China and numerous other countries worldwide.
- Reports circulating online recently highlighted antimony-content testing of plastic packaging by a professor from Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology. Verification showed that the test method did not follow the national standard, and the figures made public omitted units. It is therefore not scientific and cannot support a conclusion that a product is qualified or not.
- China maintains national standards and rules for the antimony limit in PET resin, the antimony limit in PET molded articles, the quantity of antimony trioxide used in PET bottles, the specific migration or maximum residue calculated as antimony, and antimony test methods. Examples include GB13114-1991, GB13113-1991, GB9685-2008 and GB/T5009.101-2003.
- The beverage sector has a responsibility to consumers. Making sure product quality and food safety align with applicable national standards and regulations is a corporate obligation and an ethical baseline; businesses should follow the relevant national standards to protect food safety.
- The beverage industry welcomes scrutiny of beverage and food safety from individuals and social organizations. Still, to avoid raising unnecessary consumer doubts about food safety, such scrutiny should be scientific, rigorous, and truly accountable to society and consumers.
China Beverage Industry Association
March 8, 2013
—This article is reprinted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn); original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-361948.html
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