The food industry is increasingly turning to PET containers in order to gain the benefits of greater marketability, lower cost, safety, lighter weight and a smaller environmental impact than glass together with good shelf life and better shelf appeal than some other plastics.
Special grades of PET are available for prepared food trays that can be heated in the oven or microwave.
Safety
PET containers are virtually impossible to break and, even when crushed, they have no sharp edges. For manufacturers, shippers and retailers (as well as for end users) the integrity of PET containers means no losses from breakage.
PET can also have health and safety benefits in production. There is no risk, for example, of expensive and brand-damaging product recalls as a result of production failures leading to sharp edges on containers or sharp fragments contaminating the food.
Food safety agencies and regulatory authorities around the world – including the European Food Safety Authority and the USA Food and Drug Administration – approve PET for food packaging. PET does not contain bisphenol-A (BPA) or phthalates (plasticisers).
Weight
PET containers weigh much less than glass containers of the same volume. This means that handling of cases or cartons of packed product can be substantially easier than for food packed in glass. There can be additional economic and environmental benefits in transport as a result of the lower weight.
Environmental impact
Studies have shown that producing PET containers results in lower greenhouse gas emissions and lower energy use than producing glass containers. PET containers are fully recyclable.
Shelf life
The shelf life of a product depends on many factors. Where one of these is exposure to oxygen, PET can offer extended shelf life because of recent developments in barrier materials and technologies which keep oxygen out of the container – or even actively remove oxygen which is already present.
Shelf appeal
The design flexibility of PET enables distinctive, eye-catching shapes to be created to help establish brand identity and product differentiation. Containers can also be produced in an almost infinite variety of colours – or in naturally clear material which shows off the product inside. The scope is limited only by the imagination of the designer.
Petainer has considerable expertise not just in the technology of PET container manufacture but also in understanding consumers. We undertake international market research to investigate the relationship between brands, products, packaging and purchasing. This expertise is available to our customers through our extensive consultancy services.
We undertake fully-informed ‘packaging audits’ for food producers, identifying opportunities to introduce new packaging concepts. We have helped major brands move to PET packaging in place of glass or HDPE in order to obtain functional, cost and sales benefits. Combining our expertise in ‘design for manufacture’ and ‘design for market’ produces sustainable, cost-effective packaging with real shelf appeal.
We have a passion for innovation and for taking new ideas from concept through to production.
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