Hearty benefits of TPEs for home catering applications

Dining etiquette differs in every culture around the world. But no matter the tradition, dining brings a communal experience to strengthen relationships, increase social bonding and promote a healthy well-being.

Proper tableware can significantly enhance the dining experience, especially for home catering during festive seasons and when celebrating special occasions. During these celebrations, the selection of appropriate tableware, which is thematic and guaranteed to be food-safe, is a must.

Colors, textures, shapes, and ergonomics are important design elements for cutlery, dinnerware, drinkware and serving utensils that serve to visually present food and drinks in a fitting manner.

Innovative materials such as thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) can achieve these design requirements. TPEs can be shaped into any conceivable design; have an appealing look and feel; and are available in various customized colors.

KRAIBURG TPE, a global TPE manufacturer of a wide range of thermoplastic elastomer products and custom-engineered TPE solutions, caters to compounds that are cost-effective, safe, and versatile for tableware applications.

Safe-eating pleasure

Food-contact safety may often be overlooked when buying tableware products. With KRAIBURG TPE’s THERMOLAST® K TPE series, safety is assured. It complies with global benchmarks for food-safety such as the EU Directive 10/2011, the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 21, and the EN71/3 European safety standard.

Furthermore, the THERMOLAST® K TPE series is free from heavy metal, phthalates, allergen, and halogen, ensuring a non-toxicity factor for applications. Additionally, it can be processed through injection molding and extrusion, allowing for versatility in design.

Feasting on a luxurious feel

KRAIBURG TPE’s FC/AD/PS series of compounds render a smooth surface and comfortable grip for tableware and home catering items, such as grips for serving trays, cutlery handles, kitchen utensil handles, pepper grinders, bottle grips, food graters, and others.

This series also has good adhesion with polar thermoplastics such as PC, ABS, PC/ABS, PET, PETG and PS; and wide hardness ranges from 30-90 Shore A, catering to use in a variety of applications.

Medley of color options available

For an enhanced visual appeal of tableware that helps to set the mood by complementing visual aspects, the FC/AP series comes in natural and translucent colors for flexible coloration options.

Aside from possessing good adhesion with PP, the FC/AP series has a wide range of hardness 30-90 Shore A.

Furthermore, the FC/AP series has good mechanical properties and a non-sticky, tacky surface for use in possible applications such as food lids, hot plate holder, salad bowls and others.