RICHMOND, CALIF.—Excellent Packaging & Supply, a 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 PrimeWare tableware, Excellent Packaging designed a solution that is disposable, compostable, and biodegradable.
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.
Clamshells in Use in New Orleans
A catering manager at the foodservice operation of a large refinery near New Orleans is using the new moisture-proof clamshells. The on-site 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,” the catering manager said. “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 King, president of Excellent Packaging & Supply] 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 Excellent Packaging & Supply’ King said. “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.”
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