Food-grade plastics are extremely important in food and beverage packaging, storage, and production. Food safety is becoming a priority among consumers due to increasing safety regulations, thus selecting the right plastic for food applications is crucial now more than ever. In this post, we will discuss the food contact polymer materials that are most widely used in food-grade packaging, their material properties, and applications. This guide will also enable businesses to pinpoint the best materials that correspond with safety, durability, and regulatory compliance.
What Are Food-Grade Plastics?
Food grade plastics are materials that have been tested and approved by a government agency (e.g. Food and Drug Administration, EU Food Safety Authority) for direct food/beverage contact use. They are free of chemicals, toxins, or contaminants that could harm food security.
Food-grade plastic must pass rigorous safety tests, and must ensure the following:
- Resistance to temperature variations
- Non-reactivity with food and drinks
- Durability for packaging, storage, and transportation
- Ability to maintain food freshness and prevent contamination
Now, let’s go through a few of the most prevalent food-grade plastic resins used in the food industry.
6 Common Food-grade Plastic Resins
- Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)
- Polypropylene (PP)
- Add a high-density polyethylene (HDPE)
- Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE)
- Polycarbonate (PC)
- Polystyrene (PS)
If you are looking to make plastic food packaging of your own, you need to ensure that you are working with materials that won’t react adversely to the food that will come into contact with it.
For plastic injection molding, those are referred to as food-grade plastic resins. These are resins that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved for contact with food. These are also referred to as food contact substances (FCS).
Here’s a guide for how to choose the right resin for you, with a breakdown of the different food-grade plastic resins available, and their application recommendations:
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)
Polyethylene Terephthalate, or PET, is a widely used resin for food packaging. It is the second most widely used plastic for this type of application. You find them in liter soda bottles, salad dressing bottles, jars of peanut butter, and nearly every type of plastic food container you can imagine.
PET is used to produce single-serving drinking bottles, microwaveable plastic containers, take-out containers, and single-use food trays. The FDA has also approved the use of virgin and recycled PET for these purposes
That has led to its widespread use, even after recycling, because PET is safe when it touches food. It is biologically inert, which means the stuff has no reaction to anything it touches when ingested, when handled with bare skin, and when inhaled. It’s also a stable resin, so it won’t break down in the presence of food or beverages, it has excellent corrosion resistance, and repels most microorganisms.
Polypropylene (PP)
Another type of common plastic that is widely used in the food and beverage industry is polypropylene or PP. You probably have some PP plastic food containers in your fridge or cupboards right now! It’s commonly used to produce reusable food storage containers, like Tupperware. It’s also in plastic food containers and bins, such as ice cream and yogurt containers.
PP (Polypropylene) plastics are inert and stable plastics just like PET plastics. So they don’t pose a health risk to users, and it doesn’t interact with liquids, acids, and bases — making them great for a wide range of foods. PP plastics (one of the most commonly recycled plastics) are also a food-safe material. It also has a high melting point, allowing it to be reused and heated.
High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
One food-safe plastic you can commonly find in households is HDPE. You see it in the juice and drink aisles of your groceries as the plastic bottles containing your favorite libations. It is also used frequently in the production of high quality food buckets used in schools, food concessionaires, and restaurants.
HDPE resins are ideal for producing food and beverage containers that require very low moisture absorption as well as high chemical resistance. So it’s typically used to hold drinks. Bonus: HDPE containers don’t leech coloring or chemicals into their contents, meaning they can hold beverages, stably, for quite a while.
Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE)
Similar, but less rigid and durable than the HDPE plastics is the LDPE resin. So they are favored for applications in which you want the packaging to be more ductile — think ketchup and mustard squeeze bottles, plastic wrap for veggie and meat products, six-pack rings, and so forth.
LDPE has excellent chemical resistance, impact resistance, and wear resistance, similar to HDPE plastics. And, they can preserve food products for a long without harmful materials and chemicals leaching into the food. Similarly, this also helps deter microorganisms from going through or multiplying within the contained foods and beverages.
Polycarbonate (PC)
Also known as PC, it is a food-safe plastic resin occasionally used in the production of beverage containers. The most common uses are water-cooler bottles, baby bottles, sippy cups, reusable water containers, and the like. It’s prized for its clarity and especially durable plastic.
PC resin received a lot of scrutiny in the past, as many believed it was not food-safe because of certain components — especially BPA. The widely used substances were subject to extensive testing which showed that their constituents were consumed in extremely low quantities, and doing so posed no health risks.
Polystyrene (PS)
Polystyrene (PS) is a transparent, solid, and brittle polymer. It can be foamed into the plastic most of us know about or poured into molds to create a solid form. As foam, it’s a common material for disposable plastic cups, food trays, and fast food containers. It can be used to produce food containers and lids, egg cartons, and hot cups in its solid state.
Like the other food-grade plastic resins on this list, PS is recyclable. This is recommended for plastic injection molding manufacturers because PS takes a long time to biodegrade.
How to Select Food-Grade Plastic Resin
Here are some factors to consider when choosing a food-grade plastic for your application:
- Intended Use: Will the plastic contain hot food or cold? Is it meant to store things for a long term or be thrown away?
- Freshness and Safety: Ensure the chosen material meets relevant FDA or EU standards.
- Material Stability and Thermal Cycling: Choose plastics that possess environmental stress tolerance, like moisture or heat.
- Environmental Impact: If you can, choose recyclable or environmentally friendly plastics.
- Budget: Select materials that satisfy your budget constraints and production needs.
Summary
First of all, food-contact plastic resins are the raw material which is responsible for the manufacturing of food-grade products. PET, HDPE, PP, LDPE, and more, have certain properties that make them ideal for food storage, packaging, and transportation. Regulating the materials helps assure not just maintaining product quality, but also providing information on the chemical structures of the chosen materials and their safety, which therefore would protect consumers as well.
So, there you have it. These six materials are the most used food-grade plastics resins in the food and beverage industry. All of them have their suggested use and benefits to keep in mind.
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Get in touch with us today to find out how BFY Mold can help you turn your food-grade plastic ideas into reality!
