Finding a bag that’s freezable can be a challenge, it isn’t always clear which bags and packaging can be put in the freezer, or for how long it will last being frozen. Buying the wrong packaging could have significant repercussions, as the product you’re packaging can potentially be damaged or ruined.
This leads us to a few key questions…
- How long is it going to sit in the freezer for?
- How easy is it to access the product from the bag?
- What quantity of bags do I need?
- What’s the most economical option?
Before we go through and answer these questions, you need to know which bags/packaging can even be frozen…
- Ice Bags
- Poly(Plastic) Bags
- Resealable(RSB) Bags
- Poly(Plastic) Tubing
How long is my product going to sit in the freezer for?
This is a key question to answering which type of packaging is best for your needs.
| Type of Packaging |
Length of Time |
| Ice Bags |
Long Term: 12+ Months |
| Poly (Plastic) Bags |
Short-Medium Term: 3 Months or less |
| Resealable (RSB) Bags |
| Poly (Plastic) Tubing |
The reason Ice Bags are able to be stored longer than the other bags is that they have a special additive (Linear Low or LLDPE) that means they can be frozen for longer. What happens to the poly bags, resalable bags and plastic tubing is they become quite brittle if you leave them frozen for too long. If you did leave them in there for 6 months, they would be okay, but when you go to get the bags out it could very well break. So if you’re storing products for a long period of time Ice Bags is the recommended product.
3.5 KG LLDPE Ice Bag
5 KG LLDPE Ice Bag
How easy is it to get the product from the bag?
If you or your customer needs to access the product from the bag regularly this could be an issue. Assuming that all bags are sealed to keep product stored safely (i.e. Ice Bags sealed with ties, poly tubing sealed at both ends etc.), then it’s an easy decision. Resealable bags would be the best choice in this category for ease of getting product out and back into the bag.
This is with the assumption going off the previous question that the product won’t be stored in a freezer for longer than three months.
If you don’t actually need to seal the bag and it can just be left open, then the best options would be Poly bags or Ice Bags. If you’ve got odd shaped items then plastic tubing will be your best bet, as there’s a lot of flexibility in which product you can buy as the range of tubing is diverse.
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What quantity of bags do I need?
This can also be a factor in your decision as all these products are sold in different units of measurement. As the table below shows, there is a lot of variance…
| Type of freezable of Packaging |
Unit of Measure |
| Ice Bags |
3.5KG Ice Bags= Sold per carton of 2000
5KG Ice Bags=Sold per carton of 1000 |
| Poly(Plastic) Bags |
53 different products…
- 2 sizes sold in cartons of 2000
- 16 sizes sold in cartons of 1000
- 34 sizes sold in packs of 100
- 1 size sold in pack of 50
|
| Resealable(RSB) Bags |
25 different 50UM resealable bags…
- 20 sizes sold in cartons of 1000
- 5 sizes sold in cartons of 500
|
| Poly(Plastic) Tubing |
Come in all different measurements depending on WIDTH | THICKNESS | LENGTH |
Larger sized bags tend to have a smaller minimum quantity to order, as they are using more material. Vice-versa with smaller sized bags, which tend to have a higher order quantity due to the fact they’re using less material. If you need to start with a small quantity to test, then poly bags would be a good option, as it wouldn’t be an expensive outlay to start with as the minimum order quantity can be quite small.
100µm Poly Bags in 50 Pack
Poly Tube sealed to store stuff
Poly Bin Liners can be sealed and frozen
Hopefully this clears up any confusion for you, and helps make your decision a little easier! To quickly recap the best choice for freezable bags are Ice Bags, the easiest bags to access and put products into and take out of are resealable bags. However if you need a small portion to start testing with, then poly bags are the way to go. As ever if you’ve got any questions, or anything you want to add please contact us, and we’ll be happy to help!