Do you know that around 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted every year, which amounts for third of the food that is produced? Researchers and food scientists are trying out ways to ensure less of that food are wasted and much of it can be used. The primary and the most obvious step would be storing food properly by using adequate methods and suitable types of equipment.
Not only it is important to stop the food from being wasted but storing your food properly is very essential. It can protect yourself from harmful bacteria and microorganisms, which can cause food poisoning and other severe diseases. If you don’t store the food properly by keeping it in containers or refrigerating it, the bacteria will grow rapidly which leads to food spoilage.
The best container to store food is an airtight container which keeps food from drying out and keeps it fresh and original for quite some time. There are various types of containers which claim to be airtight but you got to make a smart choice. For the material of container, there is always been a controversial question: acrylic or glass?
Here are 9 factors which will help you in choosing between acrylic or glass container.
Glass canisters are believed to be better for health as they keep the food safe from harmful plasticizers such as BPA and phthalates. But not many consumers know about the BPA-free acrylic canisters that also protect food the same way. As long as you don’t use the BPA-free acrylic containers to microwave the food (which is not recommended), they are as safe as glass canisters.
Acrylic canisters are good to store flours, noodles, cookies, and similar food items. Although containers made of acrylic can be heat-resistant up to 95 Celsius, they are not advised to be used for microwave usage or dishwasher as the heat can be extreme.
Containers made of glass material are easily broken if dropped accidentally. The kids are often seen dropping items made of glass which when shattered can create a mess and can also hurt them. Hence, it is an important thing to consider when you are looking to buy a new container.
The shock resistance of acrylic is 200 times greater than glass which makes it very hard to get shattered if it falls. The fact that acrylic is a plexiglass and is a material with high impact strength, durability, and applicability. Acrylic is often used in deep sea submarine windows for its unique features and qualities.
Plastic is the material with very less resistance to scratching. Even though acrylic performs better than normal plastic, when it comes to scratch-resistant, the winner is glass.
It’s really annoying when your food container gets scratches on it that makes it look displeasing. When compared to glass, acrylic is more prone to getting scratched. Not that glass containers do not get scratches, but they are resistant to scratching more than acrylic containers.
The light scratches on acrylic canisters can be cleaned or rubbed off easily by using 800 grit soaking sandpaper. It is a good and quick method to remove scratches from food containers which do not require anything other than ordinary materials.
When it comes to durability, there is no competition as both acrylic and glass containers are durable and last for a long time. The durability of acrylic material can be witnessed easily as it is used in plane windows, making of greenhouses, skylights and storefront windows. Most of the surveillance mirrors and windows are made of acrylic.
The material of glass is durable for centuries. Its durability can be seen in ancient churches in most cities. It remains intact and sound unless broken due to extreme pressure. Hence, you can opt for any of these two choices if durability is your main concern.
When you are out there choosing the best container, weight must be one of your concerns. A container lesser in weight could be easier to handle for you and your kids too. The density of acrylic can range from 1150-1190 kg/m³ while the density of glass ranges from 2400 to 2800 kg/m³ which means acrylic weighs less than half of glass.
It is preferred to buy acrylic canisters because of their less weight as they can be handled easily. Their transportation is also easy and cheap. You know what coanister to get if you don’t want your kids to cause a mess.
Although both glass and acrylic containers are transparent, acrylic transmits more light than glass does. When an average glass quality transmits around 80-90% of the light, the acrylic material can transmit 92% of visible light.
One might wonder why this quality is important? Well, it is really important because acrylic helps you spot the food contained in the canister while glass can make it a little difficult sometimes. Especially if you are in a dark environment, nothing works better than acrylic containers. While the difference is not great but acrylic leads the comparison here hence, we will not advise you to go for glass containers.
No one can deny the fact that kitchen storage is always at the premium. It gets hard to prioritize the stuff and deciding where to keep certain items. If you have a small kitchen, the lack of space can easily frustrate you. But, a small space doesn’t always mean having difficulty in fitting things in. Acrylic canisters here are the solution.
The best way to secure space in your kitchen would be to stack your food containers above one another to make up space for other items. Sounds great, right? Well, glass canisters can’t allow you to put this technique in implementation. You can easily pile up acrylic containers one on other, keeping the contents safe and avoiding any mess even after dropping.
Acrylic material is easily molded when heated to 100 degrees and can be turned into a canister of any shape that can be imagined. This thus gives the flexibility of further various canister design. On the other side, it is very difficult for the glass to be molded into any desired shape due to it being relatively rigid and brittle.
Unlike acrylic containers, when the glass is curved, it can bend the light which leads to the contents of the canister looking bigger or smaller than they actually are. This causes misjudging of the items contained in the canister. Acrylic wins the battle here as well for being moldable and not misleading you about the contents of canisters.
Every one of us looks for saving a few bucks on some of the items we have to purchase and this is where acrylic canisters can help you out. For glass material, because of the production process which includes the reheating and melting of glass, it costs much more than acrylic containers.
Acrylic products are cheaper because of the lower shipping costs owing to their less weight.
If you are shopping for acrylic storage containers for your store, we can add a bit of minimalist and upscale charm to your store or boutique. Please feel free to check out our products or contact us for pricing on wholesale acrylic containers and order your clear storage containers today.
