Whether you operate a restaurant, hotel, fruit stand, grocery store, quick service restaurant, or any other type of foodservice establishment, you likely use foam trays. Foam trays are also used in convenience stores and for different business applications.
These extremely versatile and durable food packaging solutions are designed to keep food hot or cold in an inexpensive and customer-friendly way. At Servous, we are proud to offer an extensive array of shapes, sizes, and types of foam trays.
As standard supplies for food service facilities, our foam trays are available with different details and features, such as indentations to reduce product movement. Compatible with an array of auto wrapping equipment, foam trays make wrapping fruits, vegetables, meats, poultry, and seafood an easier and more efficient process.
In addition to offering a massive selection of high-quality foam trays, we specialize in matching your unique needs and budget to the best food packaging solution. Don’t hesitate to reach out to the team at Servous for a personalized solution. In the meantime, continue reading to learn more about foam trays.
Are Foam Tray Supplies Made from Styrofoam?
In short, the answer is no! Contrary to popular belief, traditional Styrofoam is different from the foam used in food supplies. Styrofoam is the trademarked name given by the Dow Chemical Company for the chemical compound polystyrene. Genuine Styrofoam supplies and products are designed for rugged and durable building applications.
What Is Styrofoam?
Styrofoam is a petroleum-based plastic material engineered from a styrene monomer. The process used to manufacture Styrofoam makes the material extremely lightweight at about 95% air. Because of the amount of air, Styrofoam products deliver outstanding insulation properties, are unsinkable, and can maintain their form.
What Is Polystyrene Foam?
While most people think Styrofoam is used in food packaging, it’s not. Instead, expanded polystyrene foam is the material used in the foodservice industry.
As food packaging Styrofoam alternatives, polystyrene supplies boast an air composition from 96 to 98% and 2 – 4% polystyrene. This makes the material perfect for food storage applications.
Understanding Colors of Foam Tray Restaurant Supplies
Foam trays are available in a vast range of shapes, types, and in many sizes. And the team at Servous keeps a large stock of different types, shapes, and sizes of foam trays. One often overlooked attribute of foam trays is the color selection.
Not only do foam trays improve the appearance of your raw meats, seafood, poultry, fruit, and vegetables, they can help you create a customizable system that helps maintain the sanitary conditions of your establishment.
As the cornerstone of any high-functioning deli, colored trays will allow your staff to easily and quickly identify food within the storage. At the same time, you can use white foam trays and other colors to simplify inventory and keep things up to date.
Becausel, there is no verified, official color-coding system for foam trays, you can design one based on your unique needs and preferences. In either case, the following color system is the widely accepted standard for foam trays:
White Foam Trays
White foam trays are often used for any and every type of food. In particular, white foam meat trays are used for regular cuts of meat.
Green Foam Trays
Green foam trays are supermarket and restaurant supplies often used for produce and fruit.
Red Foam Trays
Red foam trays are typically used for red meat products and pork types of meat in supermarkets.
Yellow Foam Trays
Yellow foam trays are often used in the supermarket to store and house chicken and poultry.
Blue Foam Trays
Blue foam trays are typically used in the supermarket seafood area for crab cakes and fish.
Black Foam Trays
Similar to white foam trays, black foam trays can be used for every and any type of food. However, black foam trays are commonly used for higher-end types of red meat.
Are Foam Trays Recyclable?
Yes, foam trays are very recyclable. If you look at the bottom of your polystyrene foam trays and food containers, you’ll notice the symbol of 6. This means the foam trays found in almost every supermarket can be recycled.
When polystyrene foam is recycled, it is shredded into smaller pieces with special equipment. Once broken down, the polystyrene can be extruded into pellets that can be transformed into a range of different products. Examples of products that are manufactured with post-consumer recycled polystyrene content include:
- Seedling containers
- Outdoor furniture
- Roofing tiles
- Coat hangers
- Packaging peanuts
- And more
Understanding the Key Benefits of Foam Trays
As we previously mentioned, foam trays can be found in just about any supermarket, convenience store, quick service restaurant, or foodservice establishment. While most establishments wrap their trays with plastic wrap or shrink film for customer displays, the foam trays can be used for standalone storage of foods.
When foods are properly wrapped, the trays can be instrumental in preventing cross-contamination of meats, fruits, and vegetables. In addition, the trays can be leveraged for wrapping up fresh cheeses to packaging vegetables for sale at a produce stand.
Regardless of the application, foam trays represent an efficient way to pack and store food products. And when the foam trays are used for shipping, the polystyrene doubles as pads, absorbing impacts and mitigating shocks.
Some of the key benefits of these restaurant supplies include:
- Ability to resist moisture
- Provides excellent thermal insulation
- Excellent portability and lightweight
- Easily recyclable to reduce waste
- Excellent durability
- Easily brandable by printing and adhesive labeling
- Versatile in strength
- Cost-effectiveness
- Available in different sizes and shapes
- Resistant to compressions
- High-shock absorbency
Contact Servous for the Best Foam Trays
Whether you’re packing meat, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, or even hot foods, foam trays are designed to meet your needs. Because of the popularity of foam trays, choosing the best option can be difficult. Fortunately, you’re not alone. The team at Servous can help.
We offer decades of experience helping our customers navigate the world of foam trays and food packaging supplies. At Servous, we will listen to your goals, budget, and application to guide you to the best solution.
Contact Servous today
