Packaging · Rigid Food Packaging
Polymer sourcing for fresh produce and salad trays
Rigid APET or PP trays for supermarket fresh produce, meat, and ready-to-eat salads. Modified atmosphere film-lid sealing common.
Recommended polymers
Polyethylene Terephthalate
PETSaturated polyester. Bottle-grade, fiber and thermoforming sheet. rPET adoption mandated by PPWR for beverage packaging.
Polypropylene
PPVersatile commodity polyolefin. Highest European production volume after PE. Homopolymer, random and impact copolymer grades cover injection, extrusion, fiber, film.
Key requirements
- MAP (modified atmosphere packaging) compatibility — no plasticiser migration
- EU 10/2011 and FDA 21 CFR 177 compliance for direct food contact
- 30–50% PCR content for retail brand-owner sustainability targets
- Optical clarity in APET for visual merchandising in retail chillers
Procurement notes
APET sheet (IV 0.72–0.78, 200–800 μm) is thermoformed by specialists like Faerch and Ilip. rPET inclusion is rising — branded retailers mandate 30–50% recycled content. Indorama Ventures, Selenis, Equipolymers and SABIC are the main European APET sheet suppliers. PP is preferred for heated-environment applications and where sealing to PP lidding film is required for monomaterial recyclability.
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Source for fresh produce and salad trays →Other rigid food packaging use cases
Packaging
Yogurt and dairy pots
Thermoformed or injection-moulded tubs for yogurt, cream, and dessert. Thin-wall PP dominates at sub-0.5 mm; HIPS for white opaque body with PP lid.
Packaging
Ready meal and ovenable trays
Dual-ovenable trays for chilled and frozen ready meals. CPET handles conventional and microwave ovens; PP for microwave-only formats.