Before a PET bottle can legally hold food or drink, the material has to be proven safe to touch it. That is “food-contact compliance,” and the document that proves it is the Declaration of Compliance. Here is what a buyer needs to know and ask for.
What food-contact compliance means
The PET that touches your product must be legally cleared for food contact under the relevant rules — EU Regulation 10/2011 on plastics in the EU, and FDA 21 CFR 177.1630 in the US — and shown to stay within migration limits under your conditions of use.
Migration limits
EU 10/2011 sets an overall migration limit (60 mg/kg of food, or 10 mg/dm² of surface) plus specific migration limits (SMLs) for individual substances. Food-grade PET sits comfortably inside these — see is PET safe for the antimony/BPA detail.
The Declaration of Compliance (DoC)
The DoC is the document your supplier issues stating the material meets the regulation for your conditions of use — food type, fill temperature and contact time. Buyers, auditors and regulators require it; it is the paper trail behind “food-grade.”
Conditions of use matter
Compliance is not a blanket stamp — it is tied to how you use the pack. The same PET is compliant for cold still water but must be confirmed for hot-fill, fatty foods or long contact. Always check the DoC covers your application.
Recycled PET adds a step
rPET must meet the same migration rules and come from an EFSA- or FDA-authorised super-clean recycling process — see the rPET buyer guide.
What to ask Delta
Delta El Nile for Industry supplies food-grade PET with a Declaration of Compliance, migration data and FSSC 22000 food-safety certification (see what is FSSC 22000). Tell us your fill and market in your RFQ and we will issue the right documentation.