Can we mix some quantity of recycled polymer with virgin PP for use in food grade products? if yes, then which recycled material is best suited to make blend with PP?
Answer: 1,
Yes, you can but why do you want to do it? Just to say your product has recycled content? What kind of recycled material will it be? Post consumer or industrial? The material you use must be compatible with the PP, should not distort the flavor of the food or be extractable. So you have to run qualification tests to define the organoleptic profile of your package and most likely you will be required to file it with the FDA or to get an FDA clearance letter, which is really a legal document ...my opinion. These cost money and time. Lastly, the source MUST be the same and be traceable to that source only otherwise, you may have to get clearance every time you change source. Coke does it with PET but it took a while and they filed their process with the FDA. So you can do it if you must. Otherwise limit your self to your in-house process "scrap" from your manufacturing processes like everybody else does for cost reduction.
As a query, the question is both interesting and controversial! Simple reason being, the global health watchdogs will not appreciate the move. In addition, commercial viability is a question because in most of the developed markets throughout the world, recycled products for food contact applications is just not acceptable!
From development point of view, it is possible to produce a "good" product (acceptable in the market from a cost: benefit reference) out of 80-90% virgin PP and the rest as recycled PP.
Though the question of a good product is really dependent on the supplier of the recycled PP.
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