What is food grade plastic and why it matters

Food Grade Plastic Supply For Businesses In Auckland And NZ

If you are a food supplier, your products must be in food grade plastic. This means no unwanted chemicals or leaching into food.

What is food grade plastic and why it’s important for your business

Just because something is plastic, doesn’t make it safe for food storage. Here’s how you can make sure your plastic packaging is safe for your product—and customers.

Look around you. From your rubbish bin, light fittings, furniture to electronics, there are a range of plastic products. And, they are all different types of plastic. Different levels of rigidity, different ingredients, and different end uses.

There are many different types of plastic, and they all have different processes to create them and ngredients. Some are more reactive to chemicals, oils or heat. It makes sense that the plastic that goes around your food should be the highest quality plastic. It shouldn’t leach chemicals, break or chip easily or melt and be affected by heat.

What is food grade plastic?

In short, food grade plastic is the kind of plastic deemed to be safe for use around food. It cannot contain artificial dyes or additives. It cannot be totally made from recycled plastic, as the supply chain cannot be guaranteed, and you don’t know where the recycled materials originated from. It must be ‘virgin’ plastic.

It also cannot leach additives or be reactive to foods and liquids. It has to be safe.

How to choose the right food safe plastic type

It can be HDPE or PET/ PETE, or any of a variety of recycling numbers. The plastic you choose for your goods just has to be fit for the type of food.

Make sure you speak to the professionals about what type of plastic works with your product. Contact us to find out more.

Types of plastic food safe containers that IFP supply

We have a huge variety of food safe packaging and distribution products. Whatever you need, we have it.

Food processing plastics

For delis, bakeries and butchers, there are a range of specialised food processing needs. We have everything covered, from wheelie bins for ingredient storage and movement around a factory floor, through to shovels and plastic measuring scoops for transferring product.

For liquids, we have pouring buckets, funnels and measuring jugs as well as plenty of storage options.

All our food processing plastics are food safe, durable and long-lasting.

Food distribution and storage

We have a huge range of storage and distribution items for any sized business.

If you need chilled distribution for temperature-sensitive food items, whether fish, kina or meat, our poly chilly boxes keep the contents cool for longer. The range goes from a few litres through to a massive 50kg chilly. You can add gel pack ice to keep items colder for longer too.

We have food crates, bread trays and vented and solid pastry trays.

The food crate range is huge and encompasses everything from small berry crates through to large collapsible 700L+ bins for bulk storage. As well as vented crates, we have solid stack and nest bins that are great for fish transportation and other items where airflow is unhelpful to longevity and safety of the product.

Our bread crates are a must-have for bakeries, but also caterers. Simply prep and plate your food, then store on our 48L bread crates. Then, stack them up. Saves loads of space in the prep area, chiller, and then in transportation. Easy to move using a pallet jack- no lifting, straining or bending.

All our crates are easy to keep clean with a water blasting or steam cleaning. This makes them easy to keep clean and safe for the next delivery.

Food packaging

What we provide to the end user is incredibly important. Not only must the plastic be of a food grade, but also attractive and with secure, tamper-proof lids.

We have food pails in clear, amber and white, and options to be printed with labels using our in-mould labelling process. From 230ml to 20L  and everything in between, these are suitable for almost anything. Candyfloss, powders, pharmaceuticals, oils, honey, hemp oil, there’s so many options for these containers.

Contact us for all your food packaging and processing plastics in Auckland and NZ

We’ve been supplying plastics to the Auckland and New Zealand market for over 20 years and have a range that’s built around what people need. Give us a call on 09 636 9193 or pop into our Penrose showroom at 327A Neilson Street to see the products for yourself.