In daily life, plastic bags offer convenience in various aspects. With the booming development of the catering and retail industries, food-grade plastic bags are widely used for packaging and delivering food—they have become indispensable for takeout from restaurants. But is it really safe and harmless to store food in food-grade plastic bags? Let’s explore the facts together.

Food-grade plastic bags are non-toxic, harmless, and resistant to most acids and alkalis. They feature high transparency (allowing visibility of the contents), excellent flexibility, and strong water/oil resistance. While the base materials of food-grade plastic bags are safe, the auxiliary additives used in their production may not always meet safety standards.

Food-grade plastic bags fall into several categories:

• Polypropylene (PP): The only food-grade plastic that can withstand high temperatures and be microwaved. It is commonly used for plastic cups and disposable food containers.
• Polyethylene (PE): With a maximum heat resistance of 110°C, but its oil-soluble additives may leach out at around 70°C. This is a warning for lovers of spicy hot pot (malatang) and rice noodles—most of these foods are packaged in PE bags, which could pose health risks. Worse, some unethical merchants may even use non-food-grade bags for takeout.
• Polystyrene (PS): Used for fast-food containers. Importantly, PS plastic should never be microwaved, as it is unsuitable for packaging piping-hot food.

Mineral water bottles and beverage bottles are ubiquitous in daily life, made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic. Many people reuse them to store food or other items. However, experiments have shown that such plastics may release carcinogenic substances after approximately 10 months of use. Therefore, it is advisable to avoid reusing these plastic bottles.

That concludes our introduction to food-grade plastic bags. We hope this information is helpful to readers. If you need food-grade plastic bag products, feel free to contact Shenzhen Xiayu Technology Co., Ltd. for inquiries and cooperation.

Article Title: Is Food in Food-Grade Plastic Bags Truly Harmless? URL: https://en.szxylp.com/news/industry-news/is-food-in-food-grade-plastic-bags-truly-harmless.html