Chemco Group has received authorisation from India’s Food Safety and Standards Authority to manufacture food-grade recycled PET resin for direct food-contact packaging applications. The approval marks an important milestone for India’s circular packaging sector, as demand grows for compliant recycled materials that can be used safely in food and beverage packaging.

The authorisation was granted under the Food Safety & Standards (Packaging) Regulations, 2018, placing Chemco among a select group of companies in India approved to produce food-grade rPET for packaging that comes into direct contact with food. For brand owners, this is significant because recycled-content targets are rising, but food-contact materials must meet strict safety, traceability and process-control requirements.

The approval follows Chemco’s commissioning of a large-scale bottle-to-bottle recycling facility in Sanand, Gujarat. The project represents an investment of approximately Rs. 125 crore and has been designed to recycle more than one billion post-consumer PET bottles annually. These bottles will be converted into high-quality food-grade rPET resin suitable for use in food, beverage and FMCG packaging applications.

Food-grade rPET is becoming a strategic material because it connects plastic waste recovery with regulatory compliance and brand commitments to circular packaging.

The Sanand facility is supported by Starlinger bottle-to-bottle recycling technology, a globally recognised system used for food-contact recycled PET production. Chemco said the facility has been developed to meet Indian food-contact requirements, Bureau of Indian Standards rules and broader quality and traceability expectations. Its compliance framework is also supported by FSSC 22000 certification and recycling process frameworks recognised for food-contact recycled PET applications.

FSSAI authorisation is especially important because recycled materials for food-contact use must demonstrate high levels of safety. Manufacturers need robust traceability, controlled input streams, validated recycling processes, testing systems and quality documentation. Without these safeguards, recycled plastic cannot be confidently used in packaging for food and beverages.

Vaibhav Saraogi, director of Chemco Group, described the approval as a milestone for both Chemco and India’s circular packaging infrastructure. He said the investment was made with a long-term view to supporting sustainability and supply-chain reliability for brand owners seeking compliant recycled content.

• Regulatory readiness: FSSAI approval enables Chemco to supply food-grade rPET for direct food-contact packaging.
• Scale: the Sanand site is designed to recycle more than one billion PET bottles annually.
• Circularity: bottle-to-bottle recycling keeps PET packaging material in high-value use.

The timing is particularly relevant for India’s packaging market. Mandatory recycled-content obligations under the Plastic Waste Management Rules are tightening. For Category I rigid plastic packaging, including PET bottles and containers, minimum recycled content is set at 40% for FY 2026–27, 50% for FY 2027–28 and 60% from FY 2028–29 onwards. These targets are expected to increase demand for reliable domestic food-grade rPET supply.

For beverage and FMCG companies, local access to compliant rPET can reduce reliance on imported recycled materials while supporting packaging sustainability commitments. It can also improve supply-chain visibility, which is increasingly important as regulators, retailers and consumers demand stronger evidence behind recycled-content claims.

Chemco’s integrated model strengthens that proposition. By combining rPET resin production with downstream packaging capabilities within the group, the company can offer customers greater traceability, quality consistency and manufacturing reliability. This type of end-to-end structure may become increasingly valuable as recycled-content requirements move from voluntary goals to mandatory obligations.

The project also has broader industrial significance. It supports waste reduction, resource efficiency and skilled employment, while reinforcing Gujarat’s role as a manufacturing and sustainability hub. For India’s circular economy, investment in food-grade recycling infrastructure is essential because PET bottles can only remain in a high-value loop if collection, recycling and food-contact compliance are aligned.

Chemco’s FSSAI authorisation therefore represents more than a company approval; it signals the maturation of India’s recycled packaging ecosystem. As brands prepare for stricter recycled-content mandates, scalable food-grade rPET production will be critical to reducing virgin plastic use and building a more circular packaging economy. Source: user-supplied article. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}

Image concept: a modern bottle-to-bottle recycling facility in Gujarat showing collected PET bottles, Starlinger recycling equipment, clear rPET pellets and new food-grade beverage bottles moving through an integrated circular packaging process.