It is important to understand the temperature limits of your Packaging Material when it comes to packing hot or cold items in a specific form. While many times it is a matter of confusion whether a foam container is safe to go into the microwave or the oven-safe container is safe to be kept in the freezer, here is a helpful guide to understand the temperature limits of your packaging containers.

Polystyrene (Foam) Cups, Containers, and Dinnerware

Foam characterizes excellent insulation properties and also has thermal resistance to some extent which makes it fairly applicable to both hot as well as cold foods. It keeps hot foods hot and cold foods stay cold in a foamed polystyrene container. Polystyrene is a sustainable packaging material that is also popular for its versatility and affordability.

Polypropylene Containers

Polypropylene is the best choice of material when it comes to microwave safe packaging. As the material offers high resistance to heat, it does not get warped in the microwave. PP is now accepted by curbside recycling programs too.

PET

PET is a solid plastic that is most often used in the bottling of water and soda. The versatile substrate is widely accepted by municipality curbside recycling programs. IT comes in two variants - APET & CPET. APET is known to enhance the shelf life of food products with an expiry date. APET is a perfect choice for confectionery items, cookies, pastries, natural snacks, cold drinks and more such items. CPET is a crystallized form of PET that has the capacity of withstanding very high and extremely low temperatures. So, this material can be safely used in the microwave and even in the freezer as it withstands temperatures of up to 400°F.