Food-grade flexible packaging is the cornerstone of safe food storage, transportation and preservation, serving as an unbreakable barrier between food products and potential contaminants. For flexible packaging to earn the food-grade designation, it must meet stringent global standards for material safety, production hygiene, performance testing and regulatory compliance. As a professional manufacturer with over 30 years of experience in plastic flexible packaging, we master the core criteria of food-grade production and integrate strict quality control into every link of manufacturing, from raw material selection to finished product delivery. This article deciphers the essential elements that define food-grade flexible packaging and explains how scientific production systems ensure food safety throughout the supply chain.

1. Food-Safe Raw Material Selection: The Fundamental Criterion for Food-Grade Flexible Packaging

The quality of raw materials directly determines the food-grade qualification of flexible packaging. All materials used for food contact must comply with international and regional food contact material regulations, with no harmful substances that can migrate into food under normal use conditions. For plastic flexible packaging, the core raw materials such as PE, PP and laminated film resins must meet the purity requirements of food contact plastic resin standards, with residual monomers such as ethylene strictly controlled at ultra-low levels to avoid irritation caused by migration into food.

Additives used in raw materials are subject to strict positive list management. Prohibited substances such as phthalate plasticizers are completely excluded from the production system, and non-toxic calcium-zinc stabilizers are selected instead of lead salt stabilizers to eliminate heavy metal contamination risks. Heavy metal elements such as lead, cadmium and mercury in all raw materials must be lower than the detection limit, with lead migration content controlled within 1mg/kg in accordance with national food contact material standards. For paper-based flexible packaging such as kraft paper pouches, the raw paper must be free of fluorescent whitening agents, with formaldehyde content not exceeding 1.0mg/dm² and arsenic content controlled within 1.0mg/kg.

We adhere to the principle of raw material traceability, establishing a complete supplier audit and material inspection system. All incoming raw materials are tested in our independent laboratory for compliance with food-grade standards before entering the production process, ensuring that every batch of raw materials meets GB 4806, EU 10/2011 and FDA 21 CFR requirements. Our recyclable and compostable food-grade flexible packaging raw materials also pass biodegradability and ecological toxicity tests, achieving both food safety and environmental sustainability.

2. Sterile Production Environment: Strict Hygiene Control for Food-Grade Flexible Packaging Manufacturing

A standardized sterile production environment is the key to preventing cross-contamination during the production of food-grade flexible packaging and ensuring the hygiene of finished products. The production workshop covers an area of 20000 square meters, built in accordance with international food contact material production hygiene specifications, with the core production area reaching a 100,000-class clean room standard in line with GMP requirements. The air suspension particle count and settling bacteria count in the workshop are tested regularly, and the ground and wall surfaces use acid and alkali resistant, easy-to-clean materials with daily professional disinfection to maintain a sterile production environment.

Production equipment is a critical link in hygiene control. Extrusion, film blowing, printing and compounding equipment are disassembled and cleaned regularly to avoid raw material residue and contaminant accumulation. The printing process exclusively uses food-grade water-based inks, and the printed surface is strictly designed to avoid direct contact with food, eliminating the risk of chemical substance migration from inks. For Spout Pouches, Food Packaging Roll Films and other products requiring high sealing performance, the sealing equipment is calibrated daily to ensure sealing tightness and prevent microbial contamination during food storage.

Personnel management follows strict hygiene norms. All operators must wear sterile work clothes, gloves and masks, and pass through air shower disinfection before entering the production workshop. Non-production items are prohibited from being brought into the workshop, and regular hygiene training and assessment are conducted for all production staff to establish a strong food safety awareness. Production waste such as leftover materials is collected separately and not mixed with non-food-grade waste, with the reuse ratio strictly controlled within 20% to avoid secondary pollution and ensure the purity of food-grade flexible packaging production.

3. Comprehensive Performance Testing: Multi-Dimensional Verification of Food-Grade Flexible Packaging Qualification

Food-grade flexible packaging must pass a full set of physical and chemical, microbiological and functional tests to ensure that it meets safety standards under actual food contact conditions. We have built an independent professional laboratory, equipped with advanced testing equipment, and implemented strict step-by-step testing from raw materials to finished products, with all test data traceable and archived. The core testing items of food-grade flexible packaging cover three major dimensions, with specific limits in line with the latest international and national standards:

Core Test Items and Limit Standards for Food-Grade Flexible Packaging

In addition to the basic test items, targeted performance testing is carried out according to the application scenarios of food-grade flexible packaging. For high-temperature food packaging such as retort pouches, additional high-temperature resistance and high-temperature migration tests are conducted to ensure no harmful substance release at 121℃. For liquid food packaging such as spout pouches, leakage testing and drop testing are performed to verify sealing performance and structural stability. For flexible packaging used in microwave heating, special microwave compatibility testing is carried out to eliminate the risk of material degradation and harmful gas release under microwave conditions. All finished products must pass SGS testing approval before leaving the factory, with a qualified rate of 100% guaranteed through multiple rounds of sampling inspection.

4. International Regulatory Compliance and Certification: The Official Recognition of Food-Grade Flexible Packaging

Compliance with international and regional food contact material regulations and acquisition of authoritative certifications are the necessary conditions for food-grade flexible packaging to enter the global market. We have obtained ISO9001:2015 quality management system certification and BRC packaging global standard certification, and all production links are carried out in strict accordance with the requirements of these two authoritative certifications. The BRC certification, as a high-standard food packaging safety certification, requires the establishment of a complete hazard and risk management system, with multi-disciplinary teams responsible for identifying potential production hazards and formulating strict control measures, covering microbial, foreign matter, chemical contamination and other all-round risk points.

Our food-grade flexible packaging products fully comply with the core requirements of major global food contact material regulations. In line with China's GB 4806 series standards, the overall migration amount and heavy metal migration amount meet the mandatory national requirements; in accordance with the EU 10/2011 regulation, a comprehensive migration risk assessment is conducted for all materials, with specific migration limits strictly abided by; in compliance with the US FDA 21 CFR regulations, all raw materials and additives are included in the FDA approved list, with lead content controlled within 0.1mg/kg to meet the higher US food safety standards. For the Asian, European and American markets, we can provide targeted compliance test reports and certification documents to ensure that products meet the local food-grade packaging requirements.

We establish a dynamic regulatory update mechanism, with a professional team tracking the latest revisions and updates of food contact material regulations in various countries and regions in real time, and timely adjusting production processes and testing standards to ensure that food-grade flexible packaging products always maintain regulatory compliance. The product traceability system covers the entire process from raw material purchase to finished product delivery, with each batch of products assigned a unique traceability code, which can quickly query production, testing and delivery information, meeting the traceability requirements of food safety regulations in various countries.

5. Customized Design with Food Safety as the Core: Food-Grade Flexible Packaging Adapts to Diverse Food Scenarios

Food-grade flexible packaging not only needs to meet basic safety standards, but also needs to carry out customized structural and material design according to the characteristics of different food products, realizing the integration of food safety, fresh-keeping performance and practicality. We focus on the research and development of customized food-grade flexible packaging, with a complete product line covering Zipper Bags, Stand Up Pouches, spout pouches, food packaging roll films, paper pouches and other types, which can be customized for different food categories such as dried fruit & nuts, coffee & tea, snack food, baby food, protein powder and liquid food.

For moisture-sensitive foods such as dried fruit & nuts and coffee & tea, we use high-barrier food-grade laminated films, with oxygen transmission rate and water vapor transmission rate controlled at ultra-low levels to prevent food oxidation and moisture absorption, and the zipper seal design is added to realize repeated sealing and fresh-keeping, without adding any preservatives to the sealing strip to ensure food contact safety. For liquid foods such as fruit juice and milk, the food-grade spout pouch is adopted, with the spout made of food-grade PP material, and the heat-sealing connection between the spout and the pouch body is reinforced to prevent liquid leakage and microbial contamination. For baby food with high safety requirements, we use food-grade raw materials with zero plasticizer and zero heavy metal, and the packaging is designed with a smooth surface to avoid dust accumulation, with the overall migration amount strictly controlled within 60mg/kg in accordance with the special requirements of infant food packaging.

In the process of customized design, we always take food safety as the primary principle, and the structural design avoids dead corners that are easy to breed bacteria, and the material combination abides by the compatibility principle of food contact materials to prevent chemical reactions between different materials and the production of harmful substances. The printable area of food-grade flexible packaging is reasonably designed, and the food contact surface is kept free of printing to eliminate the risk of ink migration. For recyclable and compostable food-grade flexible packaging, we ensure that the degradation process does not produce toxic and harmful substances while meeting the food safety standards, realizing the dual goals of food safety and environmental protection.

6. Our Advantages in Producing Food-Grade Flexible Packaging

As a manufacturer with more than 30 years of experience in plastic flexible packaging, we have formed a complete food-grade flexible packaging production system with raw material control, sterile production, comprehensive testing and regulatory compliance as the core, and our advantages are reflected in every link of food-grade production:

First, 30+ years of professional industry experience makes us deeply understand the food safety requirements and application characteristics of different types of flexible packaging, and can accurately grasp the core points of food-grade production, avoiding potential safety risks in the production process. Second, advanced production equipment and sterile workshop lay a solid foundation for food-grade flexible packaging production, with 20000 square meters of international standard workshop and 100,000-class clean room, ensuring the hygiene of the production environment. Third, authoritative certification and strict testing system, with ISO9001:2015, BRC certification and SGS testing approval, an independent laboratory to implement step-by-step testing, and 100% qualified rate of finished products. Fourth, comprehensive customized capabilities, with a complete product line of food-grade flexible packaging, which can be customized according to the characteristics of different foods, realizing the integration of food safety and practical performance. Fifth, dynamic regulatory compliance capability, real-time tracking of the latest food contact material regulations in various countries, and timely adjustment of production processes to ensure that products meet global food-grade standards.

We always adhere to the business philosophy of "Quality First, Reputation First, Customer First", and take food safety as the bottom line of production and operation. Every batch of food-grade flexible packaging products is the result of the integration of professional technology, strict control and scientific management. From raw material selection to finished product delivery, from customized design to after-sales service, we take food safety as the core, and provide high-quality, safe and compliant food-grade flexible packaging solutions for various food categories.

Food-grade flexible packaging is a systematic project that runs through the entire production process from raw materials to design, production and testing. Only by abiding by strict material safety standards, building a sterile production environment, implementing comprehensive performance testing, complying with international regulatory requirements and carrying out customized design with food safety as the core can we truly create qualified food-grade flexible packaging. We will continue to deepen the research and development and production of food-grade flexible packaging, keep pace with the latest international food safety standards, and use professional technology and strict quality control to build a solid food safety barrier for food products.