Material Selection Guide
Six Food-Grade Resins, Matched to How Your Food Is Served
PET, PP, PS, CPET, MFPP and biodegradable PLA, all tooled on one floor. Start from the temperature your container has to survive, then weigh clarity, cost and end-of-life. The map below shows where each resin sits.
Side by Side
The Whole Resin Library on One Line
Scan the row that matches your end use. Temperature first, then clarity, reheat method, cost and what happens to the pack after the meal.
| Material | Temp range | Clarity | Microwave | Oven | Freezer | Cost | End-of-life |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PETCold display | −20→+60 °C | Crystal-clear | — | — | $$$ | Recyclable | |
| PPHot-fill | −20→+110 °C | Translucent | — | $$$ | Recyclable | ||
| PSValue retail | −20→+70 °C | High-clarity | — | — | $$$ | Recyclable | |
| CPETFreezer-to-oven | −40→+220 °C | Opaque | $$$ | Recyclable | |||
| MFPPRepeat reheat | −20→+130 °C | Translucent | rated | — | $$$ | Recyclable | |
| PLABiodegradable | Ambient–chilled | Natural / clear | — | — | ~short-term | $$$ | Compostable |
Every line above is FDA and LFGB food-contact safe and BPA-free. A 30% recycled-content option runs across the plastic lines, and the PLA line is industrial-compostable.
PET — Crystal-Clear Cold Display
Optical-grade clarity for chilled retail. PET is the line to reach for when the food has to sell itself through the lid: fruit, salad, cake and deli. It stays food-safe across the cold chain and goes back into the recycling stream.
- Thermal window
- −20 °C to +60 °CChilled display, cold storage and ambient handling
- Clarity
- Crystal-clear, glass-like shelf appeal
- Best use
- Fruit and vegetable clamshells, salad bowls, cake domes, deli platters and drink cups
- Product lines
- Runs our fruit & vegetable and cake display containers
- Compliance
- FDALFGBBPA-Free
- Sustainability
- Recyclable
PP — Hot-Fill & Microwavable
Polypropylene built for soup, broth, hot deli and ready meals. It accepts a hot fill on the line and a microwave reheat at the table, which makes it the everyday pick for high-volume restaurant and take-out programs.
- Thermal window
- −20 °C to +110 °CHot-fill safe, microwave reheat at consumer level
- Clarity
- Translucent, light-diffusing
- Best use
- Soup and broth bowls, hot meal trays, compartment boxes, sauce wells and deli cups
- Product lines
- Behind our restaurant meal and take-out containers
- Compliance
- FDALFGBBPA-Free
- Sustainability
- Recyclable
PS — Cost-Effective Retail Display
High-clarity polystyrene for fresh meat, produce and supermarket display where unit price drives the spec. Light, rigid and economical, it keeps a clean retail face on the shelf at the lowest cost in our line.
- Thermal window
- −20 °C to +70 °CChilled display and short-term ambient
- Clarity
- High-clarity, bright face
- Best use
- Fresh meat trays, vegetable punnets, cake squares and single-use display SKUs
- Product lines
- Feeds the trays and punnets in our supermarket display line
- Compliance
- FDALFGBBPA-Free
- Sustainability
- Recyclable
CPET — Freezer-to-Oven Ready Meal
Crystallized PET engineered for the full freezer-to-oven run that ready-meal brands rely on. It holds from deep freeze to a hot convection oven, the widest thermal window we carry, so a single tray covers storage, transport and reheat.
- Thermal window
- −40 °C to +220 °CFreezer, fridge, convection oven and microwave
- Clarity
- Opaque, structural
- Best use
- Ready-meal trays, frozen-meal SKUs, oven-bake containers and cold-chain meal kits
- Product lines
- Runs the freezer-to-oven trays in our supermarket display line
- Compliance
- FDALFGBEU 10/2011BPA-Free
- Sustainability
- Recyclable
MFPP — Microwave-Rated PP
An engineered polypropylene tuned for the repeat microwave cycles that convenience-store meal programs put a container through. It reheats again and again without warping or losing its seal, which keeps a heat-and-eat range looking fresh through its shelf life.
- Thermal window
- −20 °C to +130 °CStable through repeated microwave reheats
- Clarity
- Translucent
- Best use
- Convenience-store meals, hot deli, heat-and-eat ranges and packaged hot sides
- Product lines
- Strengthens our take-out and restaurant meal ranges
- Compliance
- FDALFGBBPA-Free
- Sustainability
- Recyclable
Biodegradable / PLA
Plant-based PLA and biodegradable composites for brands that carry sustainability on the front of pack. Industrial-compostable and food-contact safe, it gives an eco range the same shelf presence as the plastic lines.
- Operating profile
- Ambient to short-term chilledIndustrial-compost decomposition; not made for oven cycles
- Clarity
- Natural or clarified finish
- Best use
- Eco retail ranges, hotel and event catering, green-certified take-out
- Product lines
- The resin behind our biodegradable food container line
- Compliance
- FDALFGBCompostable
- Sustainability
- Compostable
True of All Six
Two Things You Can Take as Given
Recyclable or compostable
Every plastic line runs with a 30% recycled-content option, and the PLA line is industrial-compostable, so a sustainability brief has a clear answer from the start.
Food-grade, every batch
All six resins are FDA and LFGB food-contact safe and BPA-free. The full certification list sits on the quality & certifications page.
Talk to Fiona
Brief the End-Use, Get the Material First
Send what you're packaging, the heat it has to take and the markets you sell into. You'll get a material recommendation and a mockup timeline back, before any tooling starts.