Bio: Dr. Mishra is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Food Entrepreneurship and Manufacturing Institute. His extension and applied research focus on commercial food manufacturing, aiming to enhance food safety and quality through both established and innovative thermal and non-thermal manufacturing technologies. His expertise also includes multi-phase particulate modeling and validation, mathematical modeling, inverse problems, and statistical analysis. Additionally, he is the director of training programs, including Aseptic Processing and Packaging, Validation Workshops, USFDA Instructor Training, and the Better Process Control School, serving both national and international audiences in commercial food manufacturing.

Abstract: Polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE) is one of the most widely recycled polymers due to its inherent properties. However, recycling polymers for use in food contact surfaces poses intrinsic risks to consumers. Regulations, which vary by countries, are established to limit the concentration of contaminants permitted in rPET used for food packaging. To assess the safety aspects, testing requirements using surrogate materials are implemented, and mathematical modeling plays a significant role in ensuring migration tests and enhancing food safety. It is an essential tool for predicting the migration of rPET into food over time. The diffusion model of migration can be used to evaluate the contaminant reduction below dietary concentration levels. Additionally, the inverse problems approach is used to accurately estimate the diffusion coefficient using experimental data on migration compounds. Understanding the kinetics of migration is key to develop migration model, as it helps to mitigate safety risks and ensure that substances do not exceed regulatory limits. The modeling tool can be used by recyclers and regulators to verify and validate the contaminant concentration in the final rPET used for the primary packaging of food and beverages.