Sheets of plastic - storing in cardboard
Question I have to ask since I find everyone on here very valuable. We are a Food Packaging converter. We only slit down film. We have purchased a sheeting machine, which takes a roll of plastic film and makes it into sheets. Before we get any inquiries for samples or move forward with commissioning and selling, we are trying to figure out the best way to package the sheets. Right now we are thinking of stacks of 1,000 - 3,000 in thousand increments depending on gauge. We have a few carboard trays and boxes to put the stacks of sheets into. In order to keep our food contact compliance, are we able to put the sheets just in the cardboard box/tray, wrap that box and tray and unitize it or would we have to put in some sort of film down in the box, place the sheets in, wrap the film around it and secure, wrap the box/tray and unitize? This is a new realm that I do not have much experience in. I know in the industry cardboard is sometimes seen as 'dirty', but at the same time we get pizza delivered in a cardboard box. I just want to make sure we navigate this properly if we have an inquiry that wants to use the sheets for food contact. I would imagine there may be some cardboard deemed as ok for food contact maybe? Luckily film, does not support an environment for pathogen growth, so I am just trying to figure out the risk and what the best practice would be for packaging the sheets. Thank you in advance.
Reading through some FDA regs it looks like there is indeed path for paperboard (aka cardboard) to be acceptable for food-contact purposes. I would look for manufacturers of paperboard that manufacture a product that complies with 21 CFR Part 176 ("Indirect Food Additives: Paper and Paperboard Components").
Beyond that, I would just look to how fibrous these materials are, it seems like there would be a risk for bits of paperboard to call off and cling to the plastic sheets, which would then make their way into the packaged food product. Customers of the plastic film would not view that as desirable, even if the paperboard is safe for direct contact.
They make combo liners-they would be ideal for your application
I have seen in action at a sheeting company. Works well.
They make both food grade shrink wrap for large bed type shrink wrapping machine. We use a sleeve plastic wrap system for our individual 500 sheet bundle of labels. They are slid into a food grade shrink wrap sleeve (available in multiple sizes) and than the end os shrink wrapped closed.