All categories
Featured selections
Trade Assurance
Buyer Central
Help Center
Get the app
Become a supplier
(787 products available)
Plastic injection moulds for food container trays are very useful in industries, especially those that deal with food production and packaging. Their lightweight, durability, and resistance to acids and bases make them ideal for a lot of food storage and transportation solutions.
The following are suitable industrial applications for plastic injection moulds for food container trays:
Food Packaging Manufacturing
The injection moulds are used in the creation of containers such as trays which are used for packaging food. These moulds provide the containers with strength, lightweight capability, and thermal resistance and thus making them suitable for holding food products safely during transportation and storage.
Catering and Food Service Industry
Catering companies use these food container trays to transport prepared meals, platters, or bulk food supplies. The moulds ensure that trays are produced in large quantities with uniform quality, ideal for meeting catering demands and keeping food separated and secure during delivery.
Agriculture and Seafood Industry
In agricultural and seafood industries, injection moulds for food container trays are used to make trays that hold fruits, vegetables, and seafood. These moulds help in creating containers that are easy to stack and that are able to withstand the rigours of handling and transportation while protecting the quality of delicate products.
Automotive and Aerospace Industry
Plastic food container trays are used in the automotive and aerospace industries for parts storage and organization during assembly processes. These moulds are designed to make trays that can carry small components or hardware safely and support efficiency in production and minimise disarray in manufacturing environments.
Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Industry
In these kinds of industries, injection moulds are used to manufacture trays to produce laboratory sample trays or trays that are used for pharmaceutical products. These moulds are appropriate for creating items that must have high resistance to chemicals and sterility while also being strong enough to hold vials, petri dishes, and other labware safely.
Retail and Grocery Store Industry
Plastic injection food container trays are commonly used in the retail industry for display and transportation of merchandise. In grocery stores, they are used to display products such as meats, cheeses, and prepackaged meals and their moulds are created for recycling purposes and to optimise their stacking ability on shelves and in coolers.
As food container trays have different designs and variations, each of them serves specific purposes due to their different features. These trays come in various shapes, sizes and materials.
Compartmentalized Trays
These trays have sections of different sizes where different types of food do not mix with each other. For example, they can have small sections for sauces and larger ones for fish or chicken. This design is good for meal trays where different foods need to stay separate from each other.
Hinged Divider Trays
These are trays whose compartments can either be permanently divided or whose dividers can be removed. People who do not want to use separations at some time find these trays handy because the dividers can easily taken out when not in use. Most of the time, these trays are used for take-out food so that different kinds of food do not mix with each other.
Stackable Trays
Stackable trays are meant to help in easy storage and transportation. They mostly have a design that allows one tray to fit on top of another without tipping everything over. These are beneficial when space is required since many of them can be stored or piled high, both empty and full.
Collapsible Containers
These trays can be easily folded down when empty to save space. This makes the collapse containers very nice when emptying and washing the containers after delivery to customers. They make both easy storage of empty containers and transportation of light containers possible.
Disposable Containers
Most of these trays are made from lightweight plastic or foam. These containers are used widely by restaurants for take-out food and by caterers. These containers allow ease in the carrying of food either to be consumed right away or in another location without the need of washing any dishes.
Reusable Containers
These containers are made of thicker materials like hard plastic. Users can use them many times. These containers are frequently utilised within businesses like catering firms that possess a requirement for trays to be used multiple times and have the capability to endure regular usage.
Elongated Containers
Just as the name suggests, these containers are tray-shaped but long and slender. They are mostly ideal for sandwiches, wraps, or any other long food product. It is thus available in a number of sizes to cater for the different types of food that will be put in it.
Round Containers
These are containers which are in the shape of a circle and are said to be very ideal for food such as salads or pasta that require a bowl-like environment. There are examples of nested and stackable variants, which are stackable and can be stored in higher numbers, empty, and round.
When selecting injection moulds for food container tray products, several important specifications should be considered to ensure the trays meet performance, safety, and usability requirements:
Material Type
Food container trays are normally offered in polystyrene, polypropylene, polyethylene and other plastics. Each material has its own advantage such as rigidity, transparency and resistance to chemicals. When it comes to food containers, the materials have to be food safe and ensure that they do not react to the food substances contained in them.
Temperature Resistance
Food container trays need to be made in such a way that they are able to withstand changes in temperature as food are either kept warm, cold or hot. Pay attention to the range of the temperature where the tray material can be used, especially in terms of heat resistance and the possibility of warping. It should also be the case for cold resistance to avoid brittleness when exposed to freezing conditions.
Load Capacity
Consider the maximum weight that a food container tray can carry, especially when the food is placed inside it. The food trays should possess the strength so that food or materials that were placed inside them are not tipped over, awkwardly balanced or ending up on the floor. The larger the capacity meant the heavier load it could hold without bending or breaking down.
DIN EN ISO 527-2:2012 Standard Specification
This European standard specifies the methods for tensile testing of plastic materials. The tests allow the determination of how the material deforms when stretched, its ultimate tensile strength, and elongation at break, providing insights into the material's ability to handle stress and strain during use.
Compartmentalized Options
Some food container trays have compartments that can either be removable or fixed for storing various kinds of food separately. This is particularly designed for users who prefer different kinds of food not to touch each other like during meal deliveries.
International DIN EN ISO 12100 Standard Specification
This is also referred to as the general standard for safety and ergonomics that are used in machine design. This implies that any food container tray designed or manufactured in accordance with this standard has considered user safety and ecological impacts for both manufacturing and use purposes.
Material Quality and Food Safety
The plastics which are used to make food container trays should be materials that are certified food safe. The materials should not have any substance that will migrate to food at harmful levels. The surface of the material also needs to be smooth in a bid to discourage microbial growth so that cleaning can be easier.
Durability and Strength
It is important that the food container trays be strong enough to resist cracking or breaking especially during times when they are being transported. Good quality trays can be stackable and handle heavy food loads without deforming in any shape or form.
Temperature Resistance
Food container trays have to be able to withstand different temperatures during food warming or cooling. Some materials can be heat and cold resistant so that the trays do not warp or crack when subjected to oven or refrigeration temperatures.
Safety Edges and Surfaces
During handling, any sharp edges or surfaces have to be reduced to the bare minimum put to consideration. In case children or elderly persons are in places where these trays are used, injuries can be avoided by this measure.
Weight Management
As light as the food container trays might be, they still have to be heavy enough to ensure that they do not pose a risk of being carried around or tipped over very easily. Balance has to be created between less weight and sturdiness in order to achieve safety in handling.
Stacking and Storage Capacities
When the trays are empty, they have to be able to be securely stacked to avoid toppling over. Trays that fit into each other take up less space when storing empty ones, making them easier to store when the trays are being transported or used.
A1: Materials that are normally used for making food containers include polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene and PET. These materials have been proven to be tough, hard-wearing, light-weight and chemical resistant. In addition to this, these materials are recyclable, thus promoting environmental sustainability.
A2: Compartmentalized trays are very good at keeping different kinds of food from touching each other, making them ideal for meal delivery. They also assist in preventing food from mixing with each other while transporting it thus keeping food items such as salads, rice and meats intact separately from one another.
A3: A reusable container is one that can be used over and over again. They are usually constructed from sturdier materials. Disposable trays are thin and cheaper in material, intended for one-time usage. Occasionally, they are used by eateries for takeout meals.
A4: Food containers made of polypropylene and such like materials normally have the capacity to withstand heat and are thus microwave-safe. However, caution has to be taken to ensure that the container does not overheat as this may lead to warping.
A5: Food-grade plastics should be used in the making of injection-moulded food containers. These plastics are materials that do not have the tendency to leak any harmful chemicals to food. Besides that, the containers need to be maintenance-friendly and have no sharp edges to discourage accidents.
