Food-Grade Plastic: Plastics That Are Safe For Your Food

Food Grade Plastic is safe and user-friendly for any food-contact application. For the best experience, learn more about plastics in this article.

Food-grade plastic acts like a savior material in this modern age. The food industry manufactures a lot of items every day and also needs to transport them all over the world. To do these jobs, it’s a must to have lightweight, strong, inexpensive packing material like food-safe plastic. Let’s get to know more about this material.

What Is Food Grade Plastic?

Simply speaking, food-grade plastic is non-toxic and safe for any kind of food and beverage. However, many types of plastic can leach deadly chemicals into the food they are in contact with under various conditions.

For example, some plastics percolate their chemicals when the heat goes up. So, if people use plastic to make instant noodles cups, the noodles will become poisonous when boiling water is poured into the cup.

That’s why, to eliminate food contamination, we need to use containers or packages that keep the food safe no matter the surrounding conditions. Food-grade plastic is perfect for this job as it is highly heat-resistant, non-toxic, chemical-resistant, and easy to clean.

Uses of Food Grade Plastic

In the food and beverage industry, food-grade plastic is used for many different types of applications. We also use those plastic products to handle foods in various ways. Some of the most common uses of food-safe plastics are:

Storage: Safe plastic is a good choice for storing food for a long time in the freezer or in a normal environment and heating it.
Packaging: Food-grade plastic is widely used to package food and beverages as containers, bottles, bags, and wraps.
Kitchen Utensils: Kitchen tools and utensils, such as cutting boards, cups, and spatulas, are made from safe plastic.
Medicinal: Food-safe plastic is a must for medical applications and for packaging medicines.
Molds: Cake molds, chocolate molds, and other food shaping accessories can be made using food-grade plastics.
Safety Equipment: Food safety equipment, such as aprons, gloves, and hair nets, is mostly made from food-safe plastics.

Importance of Using Food-Grade Plastic

Since we need tons of packages and containers to handle millions of food products every day all over the year, the food-grade plastic helps in this case. Let’s see the reasons behind the importance of using safe plastic:

Safety: The food-grade plastics don’t have harmful chemicals, and mold growth is nonexistent.
Fresh Food: Since plastic can seal out air and moisture, the food will stay fresh for a long time.
Proper Storage: We can store food easily in plastic containers, and they can fit in small spaces.
Hygiene: Food-safe plastics are easy to sanitize and clean. It makes them suitable for repeated use while maintaining hygiene.
No Contamination: There’s no chance of contamination in the food-safe plastic containers, as the material is safe and strong enough to protect the food from its surroundings.
Satisfied Customer: The customers will be pleased with the result of using food-grade plastic items, and demand will increase.

How to Identify Food-Grade Plastics

Food-grade plastic products are used for many different applications. For example, food storage, storing beverages, medication bottles, field crop storage, pet products, etc. If you want to identify which plastic product is safe for food-related applications, there are several ways:

Check the product to see if there is any label saying “food grade” or “food safe”.
Sometimes there is an FDA certification label printed on the product.
Check the recycling code if there’s any. Usually, #1, #2, #4, and #5 are considered top food-grade plastics.
If there is any manual or description written with the plastic product, read it to see if it says it’s safe for food contact.
You can also contact the manufacturer or check their website for information about your product regarding food safety.

Types of Food-Grade Plastics

There are several types of food-safe plastics available on the market. Here are the details of these materials:

PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate)

Polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, is a popular food-grade plastic that is usually used as single-use food and beverage containers. It has recycle number #1.

HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene)

High-density polyethylene is a very strong plastic that is also resistant to chemicals. That’s why this plastic type is a better choice for grocery bags, water bottles, food containers, and milk jugs. HDPE has recycling number #2.

PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride)

Polyvinyl chloride is sometimes used in food packaging, but it’s rare to use this product. It’s because the PVC is likely to leach chemicals into the food. So, apart from indirect usage as double-layer containers, PVC is not accepted as trustworthy for use in other food applications.

LDPE(Low-Density Polyethylene)

Low-density polyethylene is very flexible, which is why it’s often used for food packaging. The squeeze bottles, plastic bags, and plastic wraps are all made using LDPE. This plastic has recycling number #4.

PP (Polypropylene)

Polypropylene is a heat-resistant plastic. That’s why it is usually manufactured as yogurt cups, noodle cups, microwave-safe containers, takeout containers, food containers, etc. #5 is the recycling number for PP.

PS (Polystyrene)

Polystyrene can’t withstand much heat, but it’s a safe plastic. That’s why it’s usually used as disposable utensils, cups, and plates.

PC (Polycarbonate)

Polycarbonate is less common than other food-safe plastics since there’s a chance of bisphenol A release from the product. It’s sometimes used as reusable water bottles, but it’s strictly prohibited to use PC for baby products.

Conclusion

Whenever you need to store foods for a long time safely, it’s better to get the best food-safe plastic. You should avoid any unlabeled plastic containers as they’re most likely to be toxic and unhygienic. Also, always check for any damage to the container, as food-grade plastic can still make your food go rotten if there are any cracks.