Rising Attention on Bisphenol A: Understanding PET Material Safety and Application Boundaries

Recently, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) initiated discussions on a draft revision of the standard for plastic feeding bottles, covering aspects such as bisphenol A (BPA) restrictions, chemical migration testing, and safety requirements for infant food-contact products. The development has once again highlighted the importance of understanding the safety characteristics and application boundaries of different plastic materials.

Revision of Indian Plastic Feeding Bottle Standard Raises Material Safety Discussion

On July 30, 2026, the Food Packaging Forum (FPF) submitted comments on the draft revision of the Indian standard for plastic feeding bottles developed by BIS. The draft standard covers requirements for materials, chemical migration testing, labeling, and product performance of plastic feeding bottles and related accessories.

According to the draft, BIS proposed adjustments to the permitted materials for plastic feeding bottles. Due to concerns regarding bisphenol A (BPA) and bisphenol S (BPS), the draft proposes removing polycarbonate (PC) and polyethersulfone (PES) from the list of permitted materials for feeding bottles, prohibiting the use of BPA in plastic feeding bottles, and establishing migration limits for certain substances to further strengthen safety management of infant food-contact materials.

In its comments, FPF recognized BIS's efforts to enhance the protection of infants and improve food-contact material safety management. At the same time, FPF highlighted that future regulatory approaches should consider broader chemical safety factors, including potential risks from regrettable substitutions, non-intentionally added substances (NIAS), changes during long-term use, and possible combined exposure to multiple chemicals.

Growing BPA Concerns Drive Further Development of Food Contact Material Regulations

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an industrial chemical that has historically been used in certain applications involving polycarbonate (PC) plastics and epoxy resin coatings. As awareness of food safety and chemical exposure continues to increase, global markets are placing greater emphasis on the composition, migration behavior, and regulatory compliance of food-contact materials.

It is important to note that different plastic materials have different chemical structures and performance characteristics. The selection of food-contact materials requires comprehensive consideration of multiple factors, including material composition, temperature conditions, product lifetime, processing requirements, and specific application environments.

PET Material Characteristics: BPA-Free Properties and Food Contact Applications

Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) is a polymer material widely used in food-contact packaging applications.

From a material composition perspective, PET is primarily produced through polymerization of purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and monoethylene glycol (MEG). BPA is not used as a raw material in PET production; therefore, PET itself is not a BPA-related material and has inherent BPA-free characteristics.

With excellent transparency, good mechanical strength, dimensional stability, and lightweight advantages, food-grade PET has become an important material in global food and beverage packaging. When manufactured in compliance with applicable food-contact regulations, PET resin can be used for a wide range of direct food-contact packaging applications.

Current applications of PET mainly include:

• Beverage packaging: such as bottled water, carbonated soft drinks, and juice bottles;
• Food containers: such as edible oil bottles, condiment packaging, and transparent food containers;
• Other food-contact packaging applications: including selected personal care and consumer packaging products.

These applications utilize PET's combination of transparency, strength, lightweight characteristics, and stable processing performance to meet market demand for safe and efficient packaging solutions.

Can PET Be Used for Plastic Baby Bottles and Feeding Bottles?

From a food-contact safety perspective, PET that complies with relevant regulations can be used in certain food container applications, including some bottle-type products.

However, for baby bottles and reusable feeding bottles, material selection involves additional considerations. These products are typically exposed to repeated cleaning, high-temperature sterilization, and long-term use. Therefore, in addition to chemical safety, factors such as heat resistance and long-term performance stability are also important.

Currently, reusable baby bottles are more commonly produced using materials such as polypropylene (PP), polyethersulfone (PES), and polyphenylsulfone (PPSU), which offer performance advantages in high-temperature environments.

Therefore, although PET has established food-contact applications and BPA-free characteristics, its primary advantages remain concentrated in beverage and food packaging applications. For infant products requiring frequent high-temperature sterilization and repeated use, the suitability of PET needs to be evaluated based on product design, usage conditions, and applicable regulatory requirements.

PET's Role in the Future of Food Packaging Safety

As global food-contact material regulations continue to develop, the industry is moving beyond basic material performance evaluation toward more comprehensive chemical safety management and lifecycle assessment.

As a well-established food-grade packaging material, PET continues to play an important role in global food and beverage packaging due to its stable performance, broad regulatory acceptance, and processing advantages.

Looking ahead, with increasing demand for safe, sustainable, and high-performance packaging solutions, the PET industry will continue to focus on quality control, regulatory compliance, and application development to support evolving needs in the food packaging sector.