PCMA opposes plan to ban PET container packing for medicines

PET container makers body PCMA has opposed the recommendations of the Union Health Ministry's Drug Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) demanding ban on use of PET containers for the packaging of pharmaceutical products.
The DTAB recommendations to ban packaging of pharmaceutical products in PET container on ground that PET packaging contaminates the medicine with chemicals is unjust and baseless, PET Container Manufacturers Association (PCMA) President Biswajit Ghosh said in a statement here today.
"The recommendation demonstrates lack of knowledge about the impact of PET packaging on pharmaceutical products. PCMA feels that DTAB, while recommending the ban has totally ignored the fact that PET is legally accepted packaging material globally," the release said.

PCMA has requested the Ministry to consider the fact that US pharmacopeia, US Food & Drug Administration, Indian pharmacopeia, Bureau of Indian Standards, and many other regulatory bodies in the world have acknowledged adequate safety standards for PET bottles.
Further, each pharmaceutical company does its own stability tests conforming to standards drawn by competent authorities before launching product their in any packaging. PET bottles meet all parameters defined in the standards, it said.
PCMA says the recommendation is based on "incomplete knowledge" and may harm general consumer interests.
It has appealed the Ministry and concerned departments to consider complete gamut of regulatory practices before arriving at any conclusion. The appeal is based on the fact that very recently as many as six such public Interest Litigations (PlL) were dismissed by various High Courts across the country and finally even the Supreme Court had squashed the PIL challenging use of PET bottles.

"It is really unfortunate that despite PET being well accepted as a packaging material for pharmaceutical products in the countries having stringent standards globally, DTAB has recommended a ban. We sincerely urge the Ministry to consider complete spectrum of regulatory practices before arriving to any conclusion." PCMA General Secretary Suresh Singhat said.