Oral toxicity and bacterial mutagenicity studies with a spunbond polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate polymer fabric.

Spunbond, nonwoven fabrics consisting of polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate, which meet food contact requirements, may be used as pouch materials for products containing food and/or flavor ingredients that are held in the mouth. In these situations ingestion may occur, resulting in exposure to the fabric and potentially antimony, a catalyst used in polyethylene terephthalate. To assess potential adverse effects when such a material is ingested, a 13 week dietary study in Sprague-Dawley CD rats and a Salmonella reverse mutation assay were conducted.