Types of Safe and Unsafe Plastic Food Containers

17 Jul 2018

Plastic containers contain many chemicals, some of which have been identified as potentially harmful. Generally, you should avoid two chemicals in particular: bisphenol A and phthalates. Because both of these chemicals interfere with animal and human hormones. Researchers have better identified the harmful effects of bisphenol A, while pthalates are generally considered safe by comparison. Still, better safe than sorry. Whether a plastic container has bisphenol A or phthalates in it depends on its type. You can identify the type of plastic in a container by looking at the recycling code number. Polyethylene Terephthalate - Do Not Reuse You commonly find polyethylene terephthalate in bottles for juices, salad dressing, water, vegetable oil and mouthwash. Peanut butter and pickle jars often contain this material as well. Polyethylene terephthalate is light-weight, clear and smooth, but its manufacturers intend it for a single use only. While it does not contain bisphenol A or phthalates,...

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Bioplastic and PLA Products

17 Jul 2018

Concerns about the rising price and supply limits of petroleum, as well as environmental factors, have spurred the use and development of bioplastics synthesized from corn, soy, sugar cane, and other crops. Unlike conventional plastics, bioplastics biodegrade relatively quickly under the right conditions, and they’re made from annually renewable crops rather than petroleum. PLA can also be recycled into more of the same product repeatedly, while plastic can’t. Early reports suggest that bioplastic can be an effective substitute for petroleum-based plastic. And the end products, include T-shirts, forks and coffins, look, feel and perform like traditional polyester and plastic made from a petroleum base. But the manufacturing process consumes 50 percent less fossil fuel, even after accounting for the fuel needed to plant and harvest the corn. Since relatively few people in the US have access to commercial or industrial composters, which help bioplastics degrade, lots of bioplastic is end...

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New Food Container Materials I

17 Jul 2018

From cars to food wrap and from planes to pens, you can make anything and everything from plastics. But there's a snag. Plastics are synthetic (artificially created) chemicals that don't belong in our world and don't mix well with nature. Discarded plastics are a big cause of pollution, cluttering rivers, seas, and beaches, killing fish, choking birds, and making our environment a much less attractive place. You know, plastics are carbon-based polymers and we make them mostly from petroleum. They're incredibly versatile. However, the trouble is that plastic is just too good. We use it for mostly disposable, low-value items such as food container and product packaging, but there's nothing particularly disposable about most plastics. On average, we use plastic bags for 12 minutes before getting rid of them, yet they can take fully 500 years to break down in the environment. Getting rid of plastics is extremely difficult. Burning them can give off toxic chemicals such as dioxins, while co...

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New Food Container Materials II

17 Jul 2018

Bioplastics: The theory behind bioplastics is simple: if we could make plastics from kinder chemicals to start with, they'd break down more quickly and easily when we got rid of them. The most familiar bioplastics are made from natural materials such as corn starch. Some bioplastics look virtually indistinguishable from traditional petrochemical plastics. Polylactide acid (PLA) looks and behaves like polyethylene and polypropylene and is now widely used for food containers. Unlike traditional plastics and biodegradable plastics, bioplastics generally do not produce a net increase in carbon dioxide gas when they break down. PLA, for example, produces almost 70 percent less greenhouse gases when it degrades in landfills. Another good thing about bioplastics is that they're compostable. They decay into natural materials that blend harmlessly with soil. Some bioplastics can break down in a matter of weeks. The cornstarch molecules they contain slowly absorb water and swell up, causing them...

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Food Containers and Packaging Protect Foods

17 Jul 2018

The principal roles of food baking packaging and food containers are to protect food products from outside influences and damage, to contain the food, and to provide consumers with ingredient and nutritional information. Traceability, convenience, and tamper indication are secondary functions of increasing importance. The goal of food packaging is to contain food in a cost-effective way that satisfies industry requirements and consumer desires, maintains food safety, and minimizes environmental impact. As everyone knows, food containers and packaging can retard product deterioration, retain the beneficial effects of processing, extend shelf-life, and maintain or increase the quality and safety of food. In doing so, these food containers provide protection from 3 major classes of external influences: chemical, biological, and physical. Chemical protection minimizes compositional changes triggered by environmental influences such as exposure to gases (typically oxygen), moisture (gain or...

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Plastic Container - How to Avoid Burns

17 Jul 2018

Food and beverages heated above 140°F can cause burns. Many fast food restaurants serve coffee that is maintained between 180°F and 190°F, and convenience stores and coffee shops serve food, such as soups or sauces, which may be heated to temperatures even higher. Lawsuits have been filed against fast food restaurants alleging injuries that were caused by hot beverages spilling from containers. Whether or not these lawsuits are seen as frivolous, it's important to note that the temperatures involved can indeed cause serious burns. When choosing plastic container for food service businesses, it's very important to choose those that will reliably avoid spills and burns. Spills can be merely inconvenient, causing a mess or loss of ingredients, or they can be much more serious if they cause a burn. Burns can be caused by direct contact with hot food, hot liquids, or steam. A burn caused by hot liquid or steam is called a scald. Burns are classified according to severity. First-degree burns...

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