Looking for food safe bags for small businesses? A-Pac Manufacturing is here to help! We specialize in manufacturing bags that will keep your products in tip-top shape and allow you to meet every necessary certification. 

Read on to learn more about what kind of bags are food safe and how you can invest in the best possible packaging for your company. 

What Kind of Bags Are Food Safe?

When it comes to food packaging, the goal is to preserve food quality and freshness by protecting it from any chemical or environmental contamination. You also want to save the food from physical damage – whether during storage or transit. 

For a bag to be food-safe, it must meet certain standards established by GFSI (the Global Food Safety Initiative). GFSI helps provide companies and consumers confidence that food is grown, produced, packaged, shipped, and sold safely.

If your business involves food, you are eligible to obtain food safety and compliance certifications. There is an array of certificates to choose from, including:

• ISO 22000 FSMS (Food Safety Management System) certification
• FSSC (Food Safety Management Certification Scheme) 22000 certification
• HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) certification 
• BRCGS (British Retail Consortium Global Standards) packaging certification
• FAMI–QS (Quality and Feed Safety Management System) certification
• SQF (Safe Food Quality) certification
• AIB (American Institute of Baking-food) certification

Note: Look at our Food Safety and Compliance Certifications blog to learn more about each option.  

How Do I Pick the Right Kind of Bag for My Food Product?

Different foods have specific requirements, but they all need bags designed to hold food. If your product is frozen, the packaging will need to be able to withstand freezing temperatures and be thick enough to avoid freezer burn. Or, if your product is freshly-baked bread, a thin, sealed poly bag would be best to keep moisture in and the bread nice and soft.

Plastic bags are a popular choice for food storage because they’re affordable, flexible, and versatile. They come in various sizes, shapes, strengths, and thicknesses. At A-Pac Manufacturing, we offer an extensive collection of plastic bag packaging options.

We offer various types of poly bags, including flat, wicketed, gusseted, sideweld, and bottom-seal. Two-dimensional flat poly bags are commonly used and are a versatile solution for a wide range of products and applications, such as bread, meat, and poultry. 

Gusseted poly bags are also a popular choice. These bags have expandable sides and flat bottoms to accommodate lots of different food products, including coffee, bulk nuts, and cookies. 

Invest in Custom Food Safe Bags for Small Businesses

Are you interested in purchasing custom-made food-safe bags for your small business? Look no further than A-Pac Manufacturing! We offer food-safe bags that are fully customizable to fit your needs and set your business apart. 

At A-Pac Manufacturing, we specialize in custom poly bag solutions with rapid lead times with no minimum order requirements. Our custom-printed poly bags can replicate any logo or color palette and can be made using flat bags, wicketed bags, zipper bags, gusseted bags, and poly bags with tape closure.

Contact our team to learn more about how we can help you with your custom food packaging needs!

If you want to learn how to package food for sale – you’re in the right place! Here’s what you need to know about food packaging requirements and how you can make the most out of your small business.

How to Package Food for Sale: Everything You Need to Know

Packaging Different Types of Foods

How you package your food will depend on the type of food it is. Each category needs to be packed in a specific way to ensure freshness, adhere to food safety guidelines, and maintain quality. 

Canned Foods and Sauces

Salad dressings, condiments, and similar products are treated with heat to kill bacteria and then hermetically sealed to keep out pathogens that compromise shelf life. If you’re packaging a product that must be sterilized and sealed, it’s best to work with a lab that tests the safety of food products to ensure that your processes are safe and scalable.

Shelf-Stable Snack Products

Products such as crackers and cookies don’t need the same degree of processing, but the packaging can still affect the shelf life. If your product requires airtight packaging to keep it from growing stale, you should invest in vacuum packing and heat sealing equipment.

If you’re selling these products on a smaller scale and they’ll be consumed quickly, twist ties or zipper bags could be a solid option. 

Shelf-Stable Dried Grains

Dried grains, beans, and pasta don’t need airtight packaging, which gives flexibility when choosing packaging materials (paper bags, cardboard boxes, and plastic bags are popular options). The long shelf lives of these foods can give off the impression that they will last indefinitely, but they still grow stale eventually, so they should be tested for shelf life and marked with pull dates.

Refrigerated Products

Refrigeration extends the shelf life of many food products by slowing down the growth of bacteria. It can also dry out food, so products stored in the refrigerator should be handled specially. 

Cold food products can be packaged in containers that are sealed simply by closing (plastic containers with snap-on lids, jars with tops that can be tightened by hand, etc.). Adding a sticker/seal is recommended to make your product tamper evident.

Hot Prepared to Refrigerated Products

Foods that are prepared hot and put in the refrigerator (such as soup, prepared meals, etc.) should be completely cooled down before packaging to prevent condensation. 

Frozen Products 

Like refrigerated items, frozen products must be packaged carefully to avoid freezer burn. The freezing process extends the shelf life far beyond what refrigeration does (it’s more expensive and requires more equipment). 

To prevent freezer burn, lower the temperature of your product before the freezing point as quickly as possible. If your product still contains a lot of moisture, wait to seal your packages until the contents are frozen solid. A blast chiller is a highly convenient tool to aid with this. 

It’s also crucial to choose packaging materials that hold up in freezing temperatures and are thick enough to protect the food. Plastic bags that work for shelf-stable and freezable products may be too thin to protect frozen foods. Certain glass containers can shatter at freezing temperatures – always be sure to choose materials that can withstand the temperature at which you will be storing them.

Packaging Features For Your Small Business

When you’re choosing packaging for your business’s products, know that it will significantly affect the well-being of what you’re selling. 

That’s not all, though – it also can alter how consumers will view your product and if they’re incentivized to buy it. Read on to learn about more important packaging features. 

FDA Compliant Items

The FDA requires five key elements on a food packaging label. They’re found on the principal display panel and information panel.

• Statement of identity
• Net weight of the product
• Address of the manufacturer
• Nutrition facts
• Ingredients list

Correctly-Sized Packaging

A product should always have the correct size and shape packaging – a fundamental retail rule is that your packaging should never be larger than necessary. Extra material can affect the safety and condition of its contents. Plus, the consumer will be disappointed when they open a bag of potato chips only to find that it’s halfway full. 

Food-grade poly bags are a top-notch option for small businesses selling edible products. If you need assistance picking the right size for your goods, take a look at our helpful measuring guide. 

Branded Labeling

Designing the label for your product is one of the most exciting parts of starting a business! Choose your brand’s unique color scheme, fonts, and overall aesthetic. Don’t forget to include the product’s name, a description of the food, the address where it was made, and any other important information that the consumer would want to know (it’s organic, handmade, etc.)

Are you interested in getting custom-made food-grade poly bags? A-Pac Manufacturing Company has partnered with an industry-leading flexible packaging printer to offer custom-printed, high-quality bags. Our custom-printed bags can replicate any logo or color palette and can be made using flat bags, wicketed bags, zipper bags, gusseted bags, and poly bags with tape closure.

Purchase High-Quality Packaging For Your Business

Do you have more questions about packaging food for sale? Get in touch with A-Pac Manufacturing. We offer custom, food-grade poly bag packaging options with no minimum order and fast 2-3 week lead times. Get in touch with us or request a free quote today!

If you want to know how to package your product for retail, you’re in the right place. Just read on!

How to Package Your Product for Retail

Whether you’re trying to determine the right packaging size or what branding options to go with, A-Pac Manufacturing is here to help. Here’s a guide to how to package your product for retail. 

1. Choose Your Ideal Type of Packaging

Here at A-Pac Manufacturing, we offer a diverse range of plastic bag packaging options. Whether you’re selling small plastic beads, bulky building supplies, or delicious food, we’ve got the right bag for you. 

The types of poly bags that we offer include flat, wicketed, gusseted, sideweld, and bottom-seal. Two-dimensional flat poly bags are the most common and are a versatile solution for a wide range of products and applications, such as bread, meat, and poultry. 

Gusseted poly bags have expandable sides and flat bottoms to accommodate a variety of products, including coffee, bulk nuts, and cookies. These bags can stand up when filled and are significant space-savers for many applications. 

It’s important that you choose the right bag for your business. Browse our online inventory to discover what works best for you. 

2. Determine the Best Size of Packaging

Choosing the right bag size is crucial. Your bag must be large enough to fit your product properly and also protect it against dirt, debris, and moisture. You also don’t want to use a poly bag that is too big. With extra material, you risk generating unnecessary waste and extra costs.

To determine the best size packaging, take measurements of your product’s length, width, and depth. If your items are flat or two-dimensional, basic flat poly bags will be fine and they come in standard measurements.

Take note that if your item is three-dimensional or oddly shaped, you’ll need a poly bag that can fit comfortably around and cover all its parts. Measure the space the product will take up on the bag from the widest points to find the minimum size bag you need. 

3. Get Custom Bags To Reflect Your Brand

Your packaging is the face of your business. It will identify your product on the shelves and let your customers know what’s inside the bag. Packaging should clearly communicate everything you want your brand to represent. The best way to do this is by investing in custom-printed bags. 

At A-Pac Manufacturing, we’ve partnered with an industry-leading flexible packaging printer to offer custom-printed, high-quality poly bags for your food, industrial, and medical packaging needs. We invest in digital color-matching and an 8-color process system to deliver eye-catching graphics, logos, and color palettes for custom-printed poly bags.

Our one-of-a-kind custom poly bags can be made using flat bags, wicketed bags, zipper bags, gusseted bags, and poly bags with tape closure. We know that the type of bag you use for your product matters, and we strive to offer you the best options to choose from.

Invest in the Best Packaging for Your Business

Do you need to get your project retail ready? Poly bags offer a customizable, affordable, and effective solution. With no minimum order requirements, A-Pac Manufacturing can help you get your product into the retail world quickly and affordably. Contact us today!

One way to satisfy all of those needs at once? Invest in your ideal product packaging solution. 

At first, many business owners put packaging on the backburner, thinking of it as a low-priority, “we’ll figure it out later” task. But the right packaging can do wonders for your product safety, storage and transportation efficiency, and brand recognition. Let’s explore how you can get the most out of your small business’s product packaging below. 

How to Choose the Right Packaging for Your Small Business In 4 Steps

Due to differences in application, the right packaging solution varies from business to business — so how can you be sure you have the right one for yours? We’ve broken our tried-and-true process down into these four steps:

1. Understand the Packaging Size and Strength Your Application Requires

The first (and most obvious) step of finding the right packaging for your small business is understanding how big and strong it needs to be to hold your product. While determining measurements, you should be sure to accommodate for the following things:

• Your product’s dimensions (length, width, height)
• Your product’s maximum weight
• The packaging container’s opening size

From this information, you’ll be able to eliminate packaging options that are simply too small or thin to hold your product. You can also narrow down options that are far too big or thick, helping you avoid using unnecessary resources that will cost you money. 

2. Explore Cost-Effective Packaging that Aligns with Your Budget

Speaking of money, your budget is also one of the most important factors to consider when choosing your custom product packaging. You don’t want to cut costs so much that you end up with something low-quality. Instead, you should be looking for the most cost-effective option that matches the size and strength measurements you found in Step 1. 

It’s helpful to know that some packaging solutions, like plastic and paper bags, are available in bulk quantities with discounted prices. Alternatively, if your small business only needs smaller quanities of a specific type of packaging, many large-scale manufacturers’ minimum quantity requirements are too high for you. It’s a good idea to look for packaging manufacturers with no minimum order quantities, so you only have to pay for the packaging you’ll actually use. These are great money-saving options for many small business owners. 

3. Outline Your Packaging Customization Needs

In regards to boosting your brand recognition, customized packaging is everything. When customers make a purchase, then walk around carrying the packaged product with your logo and messaging on it, it’s likely to spark the interest of other consumers and generate more business for you. 

That being said, you should start by outlining what customization you’d like your packaging to reflect — whether that be a simple logo, brand messaging like slogans, seasonal designs, or product identification information. Then, find a packaging option that is able to effectively meet those requests. 

4. Consider Sustainable Packaging Solutions

Now more than ever, the world is becoming more environmentally conscious, and small businesses are turning to sustainable solutions. If that’s an important cause for you or your customers, consider looking into sustainable packaging solutions. 

While packaging has long been a contributing factor in waste and pollution, there are plenty of sustainable options out there as well. From recycled paper products to reusable containers, to plastic bags manufactured with biodegradable resins, you can find the sustainable solution that best fits your application and each of the other requirements listed above. 

Trust A-Pac Poly Bags for Your Custom Product Packaging Needs

Out of all the custom product packaging options on the market, A-Pac Manufacturing’s poly bags are the choice that best accommodates each of the needs listed above. Here’s how:

• Varied sizes and strengths – A-Pac’s poly bags can be manufactured in any size, material, and mil strength your application requires.
• Cost-effective – A-Pac’s poly bags are more affordable than plastic and metal boxes, and more durable than paper bags — providing a happy medium in terms of cost-effectiveness. 
• Customizable – A-Pac’s poly bags are completely customizable, so you’re able to get whatever color and branding images or messaging you need to display your products beautifully and professionally.
• Sustainable – A-Pac offers a new sustainable packaging option that is manufactured with up to 20% plant-based, biodegradable resin. This resin can be incorporated into whichever style and size polybag you need, dramatically reducing your business’s environmental footprint. 

A-Pac Manufacturing offers custom poly bags at no minimum order. No matter what product your small business is hoping to package, we have the solutions you need to make them look great, on a timeline that suits you, and at a price you can afford. Contact us to learn more about our poly bag packaging options for small businesses.

When it comes to poly bags for food storage, there are some specific considerations you need to take into account. Below, we’ll outline some key features to look for before purchasing. 

Poly Bags for Food Storage: What to Look For

If you’re in the food industry, you know that food safety and freshness are top priorities in gaining and retaining loyal customers. Therefore, it’s important to find a packaging and storage solution that guarantees those things. Here are four features to look for in poly bags for food storage. 

1. Made with Food Grade Plastic

As its name suggests, food grade plastic is any plastic material deemed safe for use with foods. In order to be considered a food grade plastic, a material must meet various safety standards established by the Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory organizations. These standards ensure that the material meets the following three criteria:

• Protective – prevents moisture or contamination
• Durable – protects food items during manufacturing, packaging, storage, and transportation process
• Chemically safe – has no potential for “leeching”, which is when chemicals seep into the food

These standards also look for less life-threatening, but still important aspects like whether or not a plastic material affects the taste, odor, or color of the food. 

2. Food Storage Poly Bags That Are Thin, but Durable

With food storage, you generally need a bag that’s flexible, lightweight, moisture-resistant, and transparent so customers can see what’s inside. Luckily, various poly bags offer these benefits. 

However, depending on the type of food, size of food, shape of food, and/or quantity of food you’re hoping to store, you may need to invest in something a little more heavy-duty. This is where the difference between HDPE and LDPE poly bags come in. 

• High-density polyethylene (HDPE) poly bags are denser, causing them to be more durable and resistant to tears — but they can be less flexible and transparent than other options. Therefore, they’re most ideal for heavy, sharp, or bulk food items. 

• Low density polyethylene (LDPE) poly bags are less dense, causing them to be flexible, transparent, and easy to open. They’re the best option for lightweight, low-quantity food items. 

3. Able to Withstand Extreme Temperatures

Maybe you need to freeze your food, or maybe you’re planning to sell your food at an outdoor market in the summer. Either way, you need to make sure that the type of poly bag you choose can withstand the extreme temperatures you may store it in. 

These temperature-proofed poly bags usually have additives within them to help prevent the plastic from becoming brittle, breaking down, or melting — all in an effort to keep your food from damage and spoiling.

4. Sustainable Poly Bags

As your business has grown, you may have noticed the number of plastic bags you go through on a daily basis. As each food item is sold, another single-use plastic bag leaves the store, possibly leading you to think about your store’s impact on the environment. 

But food needs proper storage, and many of the sustainable packaging and storage options available aren’t within your budget — so, what are you to do?

Fortunately, there are some sustainable poly bag solutions available. At A-Pac Manufacturing, we’ve recently started offering sustainable, plant-based poly bags. They have all the strength and durability of man-made polymers, but they’re recyclable, biodegradable, and reduce fossil fuels by up to 20% — and they’re completely safe for your food storage needs. 

Looking for poly bags for food storage? A-Pac Manufacturing can develop anything you need. From frozen food storage to branded plant-based bags, we offer custom poly bags at no minimum order, with lead times of just 2-3 weeks. Give our team a call or contact us online to learn more.

Sustainable packaging is any type of packaging that minimizes environmental impact throughout all of its life cycle stages: sourcing, development, use, and disposal. By choosing a sustainable packaging solution, you’ll not only do your part in helping the environment, but you’ll experience some of these other benefits as well:

• Reduce your packaging waste
• Lower your shipping costs
• Save money
• Expand your customer base and boost brand loyalty

Sound enticing? Below, we’ll explore some of the most sustainable, cost-effective packaging solutions your company can adopt. 

Best Sustainable and Cost-Effective Packaging Solutions

From recycled plastics to seaweed packaging, there are many unique sustainable packaging solutions on the market. However, there are a few that are more cost-effective than the rest, getting you a little more bang for your buck. 

1. Packaging Made with Recycled Cardboard and Paper

Cardboard boxes and paper bags are an industry favorite for packaging, and since they’re both made from natural materials, they’ve long been applauded for their eco-friendliness. However, in this circumstance, it’s important to remember that a sustainable material must be eco-friendly throughout its entire lifecycle, and one of the flaws of standard cardboard and paper packaging is its sourcing. Each year, millions of trees are cut down and tons of energy is used to produce paper bags — even more energy than is used to make plastic bags. 

Therefore, a more sustainable packaging solution is to source post-consumer or post-industrial recycled cardboard and paper. This is also a cost-effective solution because it’s less expensive to reuse and recycle materials than it is to source new ones. 

2. Packaging Made with Organic Fabrics

Many businesses have started to offer reusable fabric bags, a great sustainable option for a variety of reasons. First, it ends the need to continuously purchase single-use paper or plastic bags. Although a reusable bag will cost you more in the short term, it will reduce your operating costs tremendously in the long term. 

Second, reusable bags can help build brand awareness and loyalty. If you offer a reusable bag with a cool design or company logo on it, customers can show it off to other potential customers who may be interested in your product. 

In order to make fabric reusable bags even more eco-friendly, consider using organic fabric materials, such as: 

• Hemp
• Organic or recycled cotton
• Palm leaves
• Bamboo linen

These materials will biodegrade entirely in about 100 days, instead of the 10,000 years it would take a standard plastic bag to degrade. 

3. Poly Bags Made with Plant-Based Additives

In regards to sustainable and cost-effective packaging solutions, custom poly bags with plant-based additives win in every category. The renewable resources used to manufacture them provide many of the qualities desired in man-made polymers: strength, durability, and affordability. They’re a great option for small business owners like you, looking to boost your customer base, save your money, and help your planet. Here’s why:

• Reduced waste – With custom poly bags, you’re able to customize your quantity and design, ensuring you’ll have the exact number of bags you need, and the exact space you need to fill them appropriately. 
• Lightweight – Poly bags weigh much less than other packaging options, so they’ll save you money on production and shipping costs. 
• Recyclable and biodegradable – Poly bags made with plant-based additives are recyclable in closed-loop systems where the material is known. They’re also biodegradable, reducing the reliance on fossil fuels by up to 20%. 

A-Pac Manufacturing cares about helping small businesses like yours find more sustainable packaging options that won’t break your budget. That’s why we’re now offering NuPlastiQ poly bags to interested customers. NuPlastiQ, a plant-based product, can be mixed with our versatile formula to create durable poly bags with up to 20% less fossil fuels. Contact our team to discuss this eco-friendly packaging solution.