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.
