Food-Contact Plastic Buyer Checklist — Shirley K’s
Sourcing plastic containers for food handling? Use this checklist to make sure the product fits your application. For any specific compliance documentation, ask the manufacturer for the product specification.
WHAT TO ASK BEFORE YOU BUY
- Material: What resin is it made from? Our food handling totes and lugs are HMW-HDPE, manufactured from virgin HDPE suitable for food contact applications.
- Food contact suitability: Confirm the product is suitable for food contact for your specific use, and request the product specification for documentation.
- Temperature range: Will it see cold, freeze, or warm conditions? Our HMW-HDPE SKUs perform from -76 °F to 180 °F.
- Cleanability: Smooth, non-absorbent surfaces are easier to wash down and reuse.
- Durability: For repeated, demanding use, look for high-impact construction.
- Sizing and fit: Confirm dimensions, nesting, and stacking match your line and storage.
- Availability: Ask which items are stock for fast shipment and what lead times apply to non-stock or custom orders.
HOW SHIRLEY K’S FITS
Our food handling line — meat trays, proofing boxes, food totes, and heavy-duty lugs — is made from HMW-HDPE suitable for food contact applications. Many items are stock for fast shipment; contact us to confirm current availability.
GET STARTED
Request a quote or start a custom project:
Call: (740) 868-8140 Email: orders@shirleyks.com
Engineered for Extreme Duty
For food-contact totes and lugs, material behavior matters as much as dimensions — cold ductility, chemical (ESCR) resistance, and a safe failure mode that won’t shed shards.
Stays tough in the cold
Long, entangled polymer chains keep the material ductile in freezer and deep-cold service. A dropped tote dents instead of shattering — contents stay contained.
High impact resistance
Biaxial molecular orientation and near-zero residual stress spread impact across the whole part, not along one weak axis.
Resists chemical stress cracking
High ESCR stands up to sanitizers, animal fats, oils, and repeated washdowns — without the spider-web surface cracks common to injection-molded totes.
Safe, ductile failure
Instead of sudden brittle shattering (and sharp shards in food), HMW-HDPE flexes and dents while keeping its shape and containment — a higher safety margin for cold-chain and food.
| Property | Shirley K’s Thermoformed (HMW-HDPE) | Standard Injection-Molded HDPE |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular structure | Long, entangled chains — biaxial reinforcement | Shorter chains — primarily one direction |
| Residual stress | Near zero (low-pressure forming) | High (locked in by rapid cooling) |
| Cold-impact behavior | Ductile — flexes, dents, recovers | Brittle — sudden cracking near/below freezing |
| Chemical stress-crack resistance | Excellent ESCR | Moderate — accelerated by cold + chemicals |
| Failure mode | Visible denting, stays contained | Sudden shatter — possible shards |
Evaluated against recognized ASTM methods (D256 Izod impact, D746 brittleness temperature, D1693 / F2136 stress-crack resistance). Resin technical data sheets available on request — request specs or a quote.