Are PET Bottles Safe?

Safety in the use of plastics has been a long standing concern for many people and many years, especially for food, beverage, pharmaceutical and personal care industries. When it comes to a healthy drink, nothing can compete with water and in an effort to be more healthy, many of us make a point of carrying water bottles with us everywhere we go.

But are our water bottles a health issue? Especially those made from plastic? The safety aspect of the packaging is so important that many people have high expectations.

Yes, they are generally safe, but it depends on the kind of plastic the bottle is made of, it is reported that PET is the most commonly used plastic in beverage and hard food packaging, with approximately 27 million tons used globally each year, of which 85% is utilized for making bottles.

PET plastic bottles are widely used due to their shatter resistance, high strength, good transparency, non-toxicity, and lightweight. Let us take a look at the safety of PET bottles.

What is PET Plastic?

PET plastic is the abbreviation of Polyethylene Terephthalate, abbreviated PET or PETG, chemical formula for (C10H8O4)n. PET is a type of resin and a form of polyester which is a strong, stiff synthetic fibre that comes from the family of polymers made with ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid.

PET was first invented at DuPont back in the 1940s and the aim was originally developed for use as textile fibre, it has become the most commonly used packaging material in beverage and food industry since it was used as a container of carbonated beverages for the first time in 1970s.

It is quite easy to identify PET bottles, try to find a triangle with three arrows and a number 1 inside the triangle on or near the bottom of a bottle. That triangle with a number 1 inside is the symbol of PET bottles and it also means it is recyclable plastic and the three steps of the recycling process of PET bottles.

Is PET BPA Free?

The answer is definitely yes, PET plastic doesn’t contain BPA, dioxins, plasticizers or phthalates. Bisphenol-A (BPA), is an additive that has been used with plastic resins to make polycarbonate plastic since the 1960s, especially in the packaging used for beverage and food industry.

Researches in animals have shown that BPA can cause a large range of conditions such as cancer, obesity, diabetes, reproductive and developmental disorders, some of the researches also suggest that young animals metabolise BPA less efficiently than adults.

Although all such researches were in animals, in other words, those identified effects were virtually in people, people would rather not take the chance as now people are paying more and more attention to their health.

As we can see from above how important it is to have BPA free material to be used as packaging, PET is the plastic most commonly used in single use plastic water bottles, they’re usually used for water, drinks and food containers. Furthermore, PET is eco-friendly, because it can be 100% recyclable and never releases harmful substances into drinks or food.

PET was approved as safe for food and beverage content by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Health Canada, the European Food Safety Authority, Australia FSANZ and other authorities across the world.

What is the Manufacturing Process of PET Bottles?

A variety of PET bottles, jars or other containers are normally produced with a technique called stretch blow moulding.

The first step of the process is to heat PET pellets until they melt and become liquid, then pour the liquid into thin and long tube moulds.

The second step is to transform these plastic tubes into designed bottle shape with exact weight through a stretching process. There is a small metal rod in the tube which applies high pressured air, together with the heat, stretches the moulds into required shape.

Finally, when the moulds are stretched into bottle shape, they need to be cooled instantly, normally by cold water or pressurized co2. After these three steps, are PET bottles made.

From the above introduction of manufacturing process of PET bottles, we can easily learn that the entire process does not involve any harmful chemicals, compounds or toxic substances, the process can be considered safe.

Conclusion

General speaking, PET bottles are safe, they are BPA free and don’t contain other harmful substances. More importantly, they are eco-friendly and can be 100% recyclable.

Moreover, most of the health authorities such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Health Canada, the European Food Safety Authority, Australia FSANZ in the world have approved PET as safe in the field of food and beverage packaging.

Till now, there is no single adverse effect associated with PET has been reported, PET material and PET bottles have demonstrated their safety for several decades.

Although there are so many benefits of PET bottles, this does not mean PET bottles are perfect. The advice of using PET bottles is to use clear ones rather than coloured or opaque ones because they eliminate small potential risks from colouring agents added to PET plastic and do not expose PET bottles to hot water over 70°C which can deform the bottles and then release harmful substances potentially due to poor heat resistance of PET plastic.

Eventually, it is all about balancing all the issues, there is no perpect bottle. All in all, PET bottles are safe to use.

PET Bottles from Zhuojing

Zhuojing Packaging is a leading PET bottles provider in China, mainly for pharmaceutical, nutritional, personal care and food products industries. All PET plastic we use is FDA approved and passes RoHS test which ensure the safety of our PET bottles and allow our bottles to be sold worldwide.

Our aim is to make our planet more sustainable by using eco-friendly plastic, let us work together to make our planet better and we are here to serve you with the best service. Any question or concern of our products will be replied within 48 hours, any custom bottle design is also welcome.