Foams, Plastics And More:
Traditional Food Packaging And Container Material

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Foam and solid plastics have been a staple of dinnerware, food containers and food packaging for decades. These traditional materials have proven to be very versatile with the ability to be formed into products to serve almost any food application. This goes for anything from plates to foam containers. At Genpak, we engineer some of the most popular food containers available today. Learn more about the different materials we use to make our affordable food service products.

Foamed Polystyrene - Probably the most versatile of substrates, foamed polystyrene may be made into a multitude of shapes and configurations such as hinged takeout containers and dinnerware items. It has excellent insulation properties and decent thermal resistance making it applicable for both hot and cold foods. Hot foods will stay hot longer and cold foods will stay cold longer in foamed PS containers. Foamed polystyrene also consumes very little energy to produce compared to other substrates and uses virtually no water during the production process. It is also extremely light weight compared to nearly every other material which means it uses far less raw materials. Food packaging promotes longer shelf-life and portion control. Recently there has been a surge in centers collecting polystyrene so check with your local municipality to see if there is a collection center near you.

Hi Impact Polystyrene - HIPS material is, for the most part, foamed polystyrene without the "foamed" part. HIPS is well known for being formed into plates and bowls for the food service and retail industries. It has excellent cut resistance and can handle very heavy applications such as complete meals. Although not as light as foamed PS, HIPS is still lighter than most other materials making it a very economical choice for a wide range of applications.

Polyethylene Terephthalate - Better known as PET, this is a solid plastic material most often used in the production of water bottles. At Genpak, we specialize in two types of PET. The first is APET, which is a crystal clear material and is an excellent choice when displaying food items is critical. APET may also be used in cold and frozen applications and will hold up well in automated fill & seal processes. We form APET into hinged containers, two piece containers as well as lids for our foodservice items. CPET is the other form of PET that when crystallized, becomes able to withstand very high temperatures making it perfect for oven ready applications. We offer a wide range of oven ready bakery and food trays in this material. Both APET and CPET are #1 recyclable material and at Genpak, we manufacture our APET products with a percentage of post consumer recycled content for an added environmental benefit.

Polypropylene - When microwave safe options are required for food packaging, polypropylene is the best choice of materials. We can produce polypropylene in clear and in colors such as black and white for a variety of foodservice packaging applications. We also offer a very unique "textured" PP material that allows us to make our products up to 20% lighter than most other competitive items. This translates into much less raw materials being used and a lower product cost to you.

Want to upgrade the food containers and packaging that your business uses? Develop a more efficient way of delivering your food? Then give us a call at 800-626-6695 or send us a note. We will work with you to improve your food packaging and container process.