The development history of disposable lunch boxes

Foam tableware has been used on China's railways since 1986. Later, production and use were banned due to environmental pollution. Soon after, due to foaming The ban on tableware was lifted after failing to prove that it was poisonous and that the price was affordable and met social needs. Since foam lunch boxes are brittle and easy to tear and cannot meet the packaging needs of various gourmet foods, plastic tableware has emerged, among which PP lunch boxes are the representative ones. They are strong, tough, non-toxic and can be heated in microwaves, so they are widely used. However, for developed countries with increasing awareness of environmental protection, PP tableware can no longer meet their requirements. Tableware must be used in compliance with their national regulations: degradable tableware, which is taken from nature and returned to nature. The first three are not completely sealed. Airline meals are prepared in advance and heated for consumption on the plane. This requires sealing, watertight, and convenient transportation, so thickened aluminum foil lunch boxes (reusable and recyclable) appeared. As the saying goes, if there is demand, there is a market. When people have more and more demands, new products will appear to meet the demand. This is development.

The uses, advantages and disadvantages of secondary foam tableware

Advantages: affordable price

Disadvantages: brittle, easy to tear, non-sealing, non-degradable

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Use: Suitable for dry food, not tight enough to leak easily, not suitable for food with too much soup

The uses, advantages and disadvantages of three plastic tableware (PP)

Advantages: durable, tough, good sealing (not 100%), microwaveable

Disadvantages: non-degradable

Uses: suitable for meals and soups Category, wide range of uses

Here is a note: the above advantages refer to thickened PP lunch boxes and thickened PP lids. If too few materials are used, the product is too thin, and it is easy to deform at high temperatures, it is not suitable for microwave ovens. .

The uses, advantages and disadvantages of four degradable tableware

Advantages: environmentally friendly, biodegradable, and microwaveable

Disadvantages: need to be kept dry and not sealed

Usage: Suitable for holding cakes, fruits, vegetable salads, rice bowls and other foods with less soup. If the coating process is added, it can be filled with hot soup, cold drinks, porridge, etc.

The materials of biodegradable lunch boxes currently on the market are generally: kraft paper, white cup paper, bamboo pulp, straw pulp, sugar cane pulp, corn starch.

Since the material is natural and the finished products are mostly paper, it is well known that paper is afraid of water, so its oil-proof and waterproof performance is not good. This can be improved by adding a layer of coating on the inside of the product to isolate water and oil, so that it can be filled with soups, porridge, etc. If the coating is PLA (corn starch), it is 100% degradable. If the coating is PE (plastic), the paper lunch box can be degraded, but the thin layer of coating is not degradable.

Here’s a point to note: if the paper lunch box uses less materials and the product is thin, the bottom of the paper lunch box may come off if it is soaked with heavy oil when containing hot food.

The uses, advantages and disadvantages of five aluminum foil lunch boxes

The first type: disposable aluminum foil lunch boxes

Advantages: thermal insulation characteristics, open flame barbecue, Recyclable

Disadvantages: Thickness is less than 0.09mm, soft and easy to deform, non-sealed

Usage: Suitable for ready-to-eat food such as cinnamon powder, barbecue, crayfish, etc. It can also be used to bake egg tarts and pastries. A corrugated cardboard box should be added to the outside of the take-out set meal to protect it from deformation

Second type: thickened aluminum foil lunch box (reusable)

Advantages: It has the characteristics of thermal insulation and open flame Barbecue, reusable, recyclable, heat-sealed

Disadvantages: The thickness is 0.1mm and above, and the degree of deformation is improved compared to thin ones

Usage: Can be filled with water Cook grilled dishes such as flower bean sprouts, enoki mushrooms, and baby cabbage directly over an open flame. It can also be used to bake egg tarts and pastries. The hardness has improved, and takeout packaging is no longer a problem. In-flight meals are also used, using a heat sealing machine to seal and preserve the food for easy transportation.

How to choose six

① Decide the grade of lunch boxes according to the positioning of your store (such as food stalls, daily small restaurants, style restaurants, chain restaurants, etc.)

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② Choose suitable tableware according to the characteristics of the food (choose suitable tableware from multiple dimensions such as the amount of soup, match of appearance, microwave heating requirements, etc.)

③ Choose according to the price range you can accept ( Sort by price: foam lunch box < pp lunch box = pe coated paper cup < pe coated paper bowl < 100% degradable lunch box < reusable aluminum foil lunch box)

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Conclusion: The thickness of lunch boxes made of the same material greatly affects the price (after all, the cost is different), and the workmanship of the product also affects the price (the material thickness is the same but the appearance of the finished product is different), so you must choose the one that suits you based on all your conditions. tableware.

Note: If two products of the same size, same material, same weight and same craftsmanship have very different prices, you should be careful. Compare several companies to see the market price. The one with the ridiculously low price may have abnormal raw materials. It is recommended to take the sample home to compare and test, and you will know for yourself.

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