New Biodegradable Food Container from Excellent Packaging & Supply Stays Strong, Even With Hot and Moist Foods

Excellent Packaging & Supply, an innovator and wholesale distributor of sustainable, biodegradable, and nature-based packaging for foodservice and other applications, has added Ingeo® biopolymer-lined clamshell containers to its line of BagasseWare® pulp-based foodservice products. These new products address a problem that has long frustrated operators of cafeterias, restaurants and to-go- establishments: the tendency of bio-based containers to soften and lose their structural integrity when serving hot and moist food.

Today, many foodservice operators who might otherwise use bagasse-based containers for take-out foods reluctantly use Styrofoam or starch-filed polypropylene containers for hot or greasy foods because they don’t want to risk food leakage or customer injury. But neither of these solutions is good for the environment. Working closely with PrimeLink Inc, the maker of popular PrimeWare tableware, Excellent Packaging designed a solution that is disposable, compostable, and biodegradable.

Foto The new range of BagasseWare moisture-resistant clamshell containers are lined with a thin sheet of NatureWorks® Ingeo biopolymer – a polylactic acid (PLA) material that prevents moisture and grease from reaching the bagasse-based shell. The Ingeo lining gives the container superior grease and moisture resistance and ensures it retains its original shape and rigidity when in contact with hot, wet foods. Excellent Packaging is the first distributor of foodservice solutions offering bagasse-based catering and food-to-go products that feature an Ingeo lining.

A catering manager at the foodservice operation of a large refinery near New Orleans, Louisiana, is using the new moisture-proof clamshells. The onsite cafeteria provides both in-restaurant and to-go catering to the more than 600 full-time employees who work at the plant, some of whom drop by to pick up orders for several co-workers. “Before we switched to the new PLA-lined clamshell containers, we’d get complaints from customers who had struggled to make it back to the office with a soggy stack of containers containing hot entrees or foods with sauces. They understood that we were trying to do the right thing but hated the inconvenience. I mentioned this to Excellent Packaging and was very pleased when Allen suggested I test the new clamshell containers they’d been developing. These are a huge improvement and I’ve received very positive feedback from the clients here at the refinery. We’ve now switched to the new PLA-lined containers.”

“Our PLA-lined, hinged-lid containers provide top-notch performance, while helping restaurants show their customers that environmental stewardship is an important part of their business ethics,” said Allen King, president of Excellent Packaging & Supply. “This is a great example of how the latest biomass technology can be used to solve a messy problem. For restaurant patrons, this is also great news: the food served in these containers will be as good to eat it as when it left the kitchen, and the containers can be added to the compostable waste stream. We think it’s important that consumers should not need to choose between a non-sustainable container and an environmentally friendly one that cannot properly contain hot food.”

Top benefits of the new bagasse containers lined with NatureWorks® Ingeo biopolymer:
Produced with sustainable, annually renewable resources (bagasse is a by-product of sugar cane production).
Eliminates moisture- and grease-related problems formerly associated with bagasse containers.
Certified compostable by BPI (Biodegradable Products Institute).
Meets ASTM D6868 testing requirements.
Meets FDA guidelines for food contact surfaces.
Microwaveable and freezer-safe.

Presentation and availability
The “new range of BagasseWare moisture-resistant clamshell containers is available from the company’s BioMass Packaging® website, in both medium (8″ x 8″ x 3.2″) and large (9″ x 9″ x 3.2”) sizes, with or without a 3-compartment interior. To learn more about the comprehensive range of bio-based, sustainable foodservice packaging products offered by Excellent Packaging, or to enquire about volume pricing, call (800) 317-2737 or email sales@excellentpackaging.com.

About Excellent Packaging & Supply
Excellent Packaging & Supply is a wholesale distribution company that specializes in nature-based packaging for foodservice and other applications. The company’s range of environmentally sustainable packaging includes compostable, biodegradable and recyclable product lines, as well as traditional packaging solutions. Excellent Packaging brings decades of experience to assist its customers with and inventory-control services, product development, sourcing, quality control, and price negotiation. Excellent Packaging also works with a wide variety of companies and organizations to research, source and deliver custom bio-based and traditional packaging and foodservice products that enable companies to integrate sustainable foodservice solutions into their business. Excellent Packaging markets sustainable foodservice packaging solutions for business, restaurant and home through its BioMass Packaging® division.