Are you using food grade plastic to package your products?

Food grade plastic is a plastic material deemed safe for use with foods. Plastic must meet strict requirements in order to be considered food safe and is regulated by higher standards than the plastic used for other purposes. Let’s take a closer look at food-grade plastic, what makes it safe for food over other types of plastic, and some examples of how food-grade plastic is used.

1. What is Food Grade Plastic?

Food-grade plastic must be produced using safe materials in a safe environment. For plastic to be used in contact with food or food products, it must:

• Be protective: to act as a defense against moisture or contamination without breaking down 
• Be durable: to protect food items during manufacturing, packaging, storage, transportation
• Be chemically safe: to not contaminate food it comes in contact with. This means the plastic must have no tendency for “leeching”, or the potential for chemicals to seep into the food, where they could either affect the taste or cause adverse health effects for the consumer.

2. How does plastic become food-grade plastic?

To be certified as safe and labeled food grade, the plastic must meet strict standards set by the Food & Drug Administration and other regulating organizations.

Food grade plastic materials

First, the FDA must approve of the materials being used to manufacture food-grade plastic. They examine all ingredients and additives to ensure they are safe and will not affect the taste, odor, or color of the food. They will also test the materials for adverse responses to temperature changes, humidity, and moisture, or the presence of other chemicals, oils, or alcohols. This verifies that the plastic will hold up for packaging, manufacturing, or other uses.

Read more: Packaging requirements for fresh fruits and vegetables

Food grade plastic manufacturing facility

Secondly, the facility where the food-grade plastic is manufactured must meet stringent cleanliness requirements and have good manufacturing practices in place to minimize potential risks of contamination of its products. Standards documents issued by the International Standards Organization regulate the environment of the manufacturing facility to ensure consistently high quality and clean products. ISO 9000 is the minimum standard with which most food-grade plastic manufacturers must comply.

Food grade plastic certifications

Lastly, once the food-grade plastic has been used to make plastic film or bags to ship, store, or transport food, its quality will be checked again by the manufacturer and attributed with the correct certifications for food grade and safety. 

The Food Safety System Certification (FSSC 22000), established by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) is one example of a food safety certification for food-grade plastic. With this certification, a quality management system is established for the food-grade plastic product that continues throughout the product’s lifetime, from manufacturing to the end consumer, to ensure it is consistently high quality and food safety.

3. Uses of food-grade plastic

Food grade plastic is used in many applications, from the packaging and shipping of harvested crops to the supermarket, or the development and distribution of pharmaceutical products. Different types of plastic can be made food grade to handle different products or different environments. A few examples of food-grade plastic include:

• Polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE): plastic bottles or jars like single-serving water bottles or condiment containers.
• High-density polyethylene (HDPE): milk jugs, grocery bags, squeeze-dispenser bottles
• Polyvinyl chloride: cling wrap, high clarity food storage bags
• Low-density polyethylene (LDPE): produce bags, bread bags, can rings
• Polypropylene (PP): clear wrappers, bottles for medication
• Polystyrene (PS): plastic silverware, to-go containers

All of these materials (& more) can be made food grade to provide a safe material for food packaging, storage, and consumption. They are made in a strictly controlled environment to ensure that consumer safety remains a top priority.

4. Why is Amiba company always the first choice?

• More than 30 years of experience in the plastic and complex film packaging industry
• Provide products with high quality
• Large production capacity
• Cost savings
• Large warehouse system, fast delivery
• Diverse payment policy
• Being a close partner of many large companies and large enterprises
• Staff dedicated to the job
• The production environment is safe for humans and the environment

Amiba company’s products are widely used by ensuring quality management, environmental protection, and integrated ISO standards:

– It has been assessed and certified to meet the requirements of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Codex Alimentarius

– It has been assessed and certified to meet the requirements of  Food Safety System Certification (FSSC) 22000

– It has been assessed and certified to meet the requirements of ISO 22000: 2018

– It has been assessed and certified to meet the requirements of ISO 9001: 2015

If you need to learn more about laminated film packaging, or need advice regarding placing an order or getting a price quotation, please call now +84 966 290 555 for the best support.

CONTACT US

Address: Lot 8, Street Number 16, Viet Nam-Singapore II-A Industrial Park, Tan Uyen Town, Binh Duong Province, Viet Nam.

Office Tower: 25 Ngo Quyen Street, Ward 10, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City

Tel: +84 966 290 555

Email: info@amibapack.com

Website: www.amibapack.com