How to Give Your Consumers Clear Packaging

Find out how anti-fog coatings enhance lid stock packaging by maintaining clarity and extending food freshness. Learn about the benefits of PET-based coatings for improved recyclability and performance.

As consumer preference for fresh food products grows, so does the need for clear packaging. However, refrigerable, moisture-containing food products are susceptible to fog formation when packaged, making it difficult to ensure package clarity and food freshness.

Gain insight into how anti-fog coatings help address this issue and the smart choice to make when considering coatings for your lid stock packaging needs.

How Anti-Fog Coatings Keep Packaging Clear And Food Fresh

Fresh foods are packaged in plastic, refrigerable containers to prolong their shelf life and increase consumer convenience. However, during refrigeration, air and water vapor get trapped within the package. As the food product expels moisture, it causes water droplets to form on the inside of the package and the light to refract in many directions across its lid. This fog makes it difficult for people to see through the package to assess food freshness and makes food susceptible to faster decay.

When applied to the packaging lid, anti-fog coatings cause water vapor in the air as well as migrated moisture from the food to create a thin, uniform, transparent film instead of water droplets. By altering how the water droplets form, the packaging lid remains much more transparent with minimal light refraction and fog creation. This enables the packaging to be clear and extends food quality.

Why Certain Anti-Fog Coatings Are The Right Choice

While all anti-fog coatings are designed to aid in clear packaging and food freshness, certain coatings offer advantages over other options.

Advantage #1: Enhanced Clarity

For example, when applied to a PET lid stock, PET-based anti-fog coatings are able to modify the chemical nature of the lid stock itself. This modification further aids in product visibility and enables converters to better meet consumer preferences for clear packaging. These coatings also can be sealed onto tray stocks, such as APET and RPET, for enhanced clarity.

Advantage #2: Improved Recyclability

Additionally, PET-based anti-fog coatings improve the recyclability of the final package. Many anti-fog coatings are PE or PP-based. When these coatings are applied to a PET or similar lid stock, the overall packaging is no longer able to be recycled into one single stream. Instead, the packaging tray and lid first must be separated due to incompatibility. With PET-based anti-fog coatings, and since they can be heat sealed to APET and RPET tray stocks, this is not the case, and they are able to aid in easy package recyclability.

Advantage #3: Increased Performance

Other packaging substrates may lack certain properties that can cause packaging clarity and food freshness issues even when anti-fog coatings are used. For example, PE and PP packaging substrates do not offer sufficient gas barrier properties. By letting more oxygen and other gases into the package than desirable, the packaging is less clear, and the food inside is likely to decompose more quickly.

How PET-Based Anti-fog Coatings Provide Advantages For PET Lid Stock

While non-PET based anti-fog coatings can provide similar benefits to PET-based anti-fog coatings, they do not help you to increase the overall recyclability of the package. PET-based anti-fog coatings can be used on PET lid stock to increase the overall recyclability while also providing the following benefits:

Excellent clarity: PET-based anti-fog coatings allow light to pass through PET lid stock with minimal distortion, making it suitable for packaging applications that require transparency.
High mechanical strength: PET-based anti-fog coatings can withstand force or pressure without breaking or deforming, making it useful for products that require structural protection with the PET lid stock.
Good chemical resistance: PET-based anti-fog coatings do not degrade when exposed to chemicals including acids and solvents, helping to increase packaging lifespan with PET lid stock.
High barrier properties: PET-based anti-fog coatings prevent the passage of gases, liquids or contaminants, helping to preserve food, pharmaceuticals or other sensitive products inside PET lid stock.
Stability over wide temperature range: PET-based anti-fog coatings maintain their properties and performance across extreme cold and high heat temperatures, making it versatile for diverse environments and conditions.

Why Work With Bostik

Bostik’s PET-based anti-fog heat seal coatings are designed to improve operational efficiencies and overall package aesthetics while meeting consumer preferences for transparent packaging and extended food freshness. With our solutions, you’ll gain:

Improved protection: Our polyester-based solutions provide excellent oxygen barriers and temperature and chemical resistance to help keep food fresh longer.
Reliable peel strength: Our coatings offer a smooth, secure seal to help ensure food security while also maintaining ease of use.

Additionally, you’ll also receive:

Technical support: Bostik’s technical experts work with you directly to assist with trial testing to help ensure the right solution is chosen for your specific needs. 
Troubleshooting assistance: We offer in-person support at your facilities to help prevent any concerns with using our anti-fog coatings in your production lines. This includes yearly line assessments to provide feedback on the handling of our solutions and operator training whenever necessary.

Interested in learning how anti-fog coatings enhance your lid stock packaging? Contact a Bostik expert to learn how our PET-based anti-fog coatings can help maintain package clarity and extend food freshness while improving recyclability.