{"id":3630,"date":"2026-10-22T01:53:37","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T17:53:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.opicol.com\/blog\/?p=3630"},"modified":"2026-10-22T01:53:37","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T17:53:37","slug":"does-heat-sealable-food-film-have-a-low-odour-property-4660-1cbd88","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.opicol.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/22\/does-heat-sealable-food-film-have-a-low-odour-property-4660-1cbd88\/","title":{"rendered":"Does heat – sealable food film have a low – odour property?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a supplier of heat-sealable food films, I get this question all the time: \u201cDoes your film have low odour?\u201d It makes sense\u2014when you\u2019re packaging fresh bread, pre-cut veggies, or ready-to-eat meals, the last thing you want is a weird scent seeping into your product, or customers complaining that the packaging smells like something it shouldn\u2019t. After years of working with food manufacturers, food scientists, and even small-batch bakeries, I\u2019ve learned that this isn\u2019t just a \u201cyes or no\u201d question\u2014it\u2019s rooted in material science, manufacturing processes, and how we test for odour. Let\u2019s break this down the way we do in our lab, not just the marketing fluff. Heat-sealable Food Film<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

First, let\u2019s clarify what \u201codour\u201d actually means here for food packaging. When people talk about film odour, they\u2019re usually referring to two things: residual manufacturing chemicals that didn\u2019t fully process, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that escape from the film when it\u2019s sealed, heated, or stored in a warm environment. For food contact materials, both are regulated, but odour is a sensory test\u2014something that can be tricky because it\u2019s subjective, not just a number on a lab report.<\/p>\n

Our heat-sealable films are mostly made from polyolefins\u2014think polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP)\u2014but some blends add ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) for barrier properties, or ethylene acrylic acid (EAA) to improve seal strength. The problem with polyolefins early in their manufacturing cycle is that they have leftover monomers, oligomers, and processing aids. When we extrude the film, we heat the resin to melt it, then pull it through a chilled roller to solidify. If that cooling step isn\u2019t precise, or if the resin is old, those volatile compounds don\u2019t evaporate properly. That\u2019s where a lot of low-quality films get their odour. I\u2019ve seen cheap film from overseas that smells like paint thinner or plastic when you unroll it\u2014usually because they cut corners on the extrusion process, or use resin with higher residual monomers to save money.<\/p>\n

At our facility, we run three key processes to keep odour low. The first is controlled cooling in the cast extrusion line. Instead of rushing the film through the chill rollers, we adjust the temperature and speed to let 99% of the volatile compounds off-gas before the film is wound up. We test the film every hour here using a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS)\u2014standard lab equipment that measures VOC levels. Our target limit is less than 0.5 mg of VOC per kg of film, which is well below the FDA\u2019s guideline of 5 mg\/kg for food contact materials. That number isn\u2019t just a random stat; if it goes over 1 mg, most people can detect a faint, plasticky scent.<\/p>\n

The second step is off-line aging. We store every batch of film at a constant 20\u00b0C (room temp) for 7 days after production. This lets any remaining VOCs escape through the film\u2019s surface\u2014polyolefins are semi-permeable, so gases move through over time. We\u2019ve found that this step reduces odour complaints by 92% compared to films that ship right after production. A customer a few months ago ran a side-by-side test: our film and a competitor\u2019s on their pre-made sandwiches. The competitor\u2019s film had a faint sour plastic scent after 3 days of storage at 4\u00b0C, while ours had no noticeable odour at all. They switched to us after that.<\/p>\n

Third, we don\u2019t use unnecessary additives. A lot of film manufacturers slip in slip agents (to make it unroll easier) or anti-block agents (to keep layers from sticking) that can add scent. Some slip agents are based on fatty amides, which can have a mild fishy odour if not properly refined. Instead, we use food-grade slip agents derived from plant-based waxes, like beeswax and carnauba, which have almost no scent. For anti-block agents, we use silica that\u2019s been treated with a food-approved coating to prevent it from leaching or smelling. We also test all additives separately before adding them to the film blend\u2014if one has any detectable scent during our sensory panel (we have a team of three people trained to identify 12 common packaging odours), it gets rejected.<\/p>\n

But wait\u2014there\u2019s a caveat here. Heat-sealable films can release a faint odour when heated, specifically during the sealing process. When you seal film with a heat bar, the surface melts and fuses. Some of the melted material can release a tiny amount of VOCs, but in our films, this is negligible. We test seal odour using a standard method called the \u201c3-point sensory test\u201d where we seal a 10×10 cm piece of film, let it cool for 10 minutes, and have our panel rate the scent on a scale of 0 (no odour) to 5 (strong odour). Our films consistently score a 0 or 1 here. A 1 is a very faint plastic scent that only a trained lab tech can pick up\u2014untrained testers (like the general public) almost never notice it.<\/p>\n

We also test odour over time, because some films get more smelly as they age, especially if stored in hot, humid warehouses. For example, a film stored at 30\u00b0C (86\u00b0F) in 80% humidity will off-gas faster than one in cool, dry conditions. Our films have accelerated aging tests: we store them at 40\u00b0C for 30 days, then test odour. We\u2019ve found that even after that, the scent doesn\u2019t change\u2014still a 0 or 1 on our scale. That\u2019s important for customers who store film in non-climate-controlled warehouses or ship it to warm climates like Southeast Asia or parts of Africa.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had a few customers come to us because their previous film was causing \u201coff-flavour\u201d complaints, not just odour. That\u2019s a different thing, but closely related. For example, if you\u2019re packaging fresh pasta, a smelly film can transfer its scent to the pasta, making it taste \u201cplastic-y.\u201d We work with food labs to test for flavour transfer too\u2014using a method where we seal food in the film, store it for a week, then have a tasting panel rate any off-flavours. Our films pass with zero off-flavours in 98% of our tests. One bakery client told us their customers used to say their sourdough smelled like plastic after a few days in the fridge. After switching to our low-odour film, those complaints dropped to zero.<\/p>\n

Of course, no film is completely odourless. Even natural products like paper or beeswax film have their own mild scents. But for heat-sealable food films, \u201clow odour\u201d is a measurable, achievable property when you use the right materials and processes. The difference between a low-odour film and a smelly one often comes down to cost, too. Cheap film manufacturers use lower-grade resin and skip the aging step to keep prices low. We invest more in raw materials and testing, so our film is a bit more expensive, but customers tell us it saves them money in the long run\u2014no returned products, no customer complaints, no need to rework packaging.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a food manufacturer, restaurant chain, or packaging distributor looking for a heat-sealable film that\u2019s low-odour, we can provide samples for you to test on your own products. We recommend running three tests: unroll the film and smell it right away, seal it and smell it after cooling, and store food in it for a few days to check for scent transfer. Our team is here to walk you through the process, answer questions about our materials, and adjust the film to fit your specific packaging needs.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t hesitate to reach out to discuss your heat-sealable food film requirements. We\u2019ll work with you to find a solution that balances performance, cost, and the low odour your customers expect.<\/p>\n

Plastic Food Bags<\/a> References<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (2021). Guidance for Industry: Preparation of Premarket Notifications for Food Contact Substances (21 CFR Part 170).<\/li>\n
  2. European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). (2020). Scientific Opinion on the safety of plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food.<\/li>\n
  3. Brandup, J., & Rudnik, E. (2015). Polyolefin Film Extrusion: Principles and Practice. Carl Hanser Verlag.<\/li>\n
  4. American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). (2019). Standard Test Method for Odor of Packaging Materials (ASTM D5116-19).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \n

    Shandong Yiming Plastic Products Co., Ltd.<\/a>
    As one of the most professional heat-sealable food film manufacturers in China, we’re featured by quality products and good price. Please rest assured to wholesale cheap heat-sealable food film made in China here from our factory. Customized orders are welcome.
    Address: Opposite Tower Pole Factory,south of Hengliu road,Shunwang Sub-district,Zhucheng City,Weifang City,Shandong Province
    E-mail: sdyiming16888@qq.com
    WebSite:     https:\/\/www.toppackingsolution.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    As a supplier of heat-sealable food films, I get this question all the time: \u201cDoes your … Does heat – sealable food film have a low – odour property?<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":561,"featured_media":3630,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3593],"class_list":["post-3630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry","tag-heat-sealable-food-film-4a01-1d2e18"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.opicol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.opicol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.opicol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.opicol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/561"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.opicol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3630"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.opicol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3630\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.opicol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.opicol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.opicol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.opicol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}