Pre-Iceland pitch the importance of having a ovenproof material was made obvious for food trays.

I observed in store, by looking at current packaging and the cooking instructions on the pack, and then through discussion with friends that the user wants the convenience of the tray to the dinner plate.

Because of manufacturing techniques I originally experimented with flat surface products like cardboard with the idea of creating a tray that could be delivered flat and folded in the assembly line.

The pictures below are testing the material for oven proof with and without food.

This I later discovered doesn’t test ‘migration’, migration is when the properties or chemicals from the tray entre the food. This has to be avoided, this is one reason why plastic films are used. However common research states that chemicals from plastic leach into our food when the temperature fluctuates. This is one reason why I use natural organic materials for food contact trays.

The images below are showing modelling and testing

 

I used cardboard from toilet roll inner to model.

I use waste materials where ever I can in my modeling.

Foundation principles from book Cradle to Cradle

Waste = Food runs through my projects.

 

 

 

 

 

The carton board was laminated in potato starch polymer, this is my recipe for a polymer that i made during my last project. SEAsoning an edible polymer made to improve health and wellness.

Through on going playful experiments like this one I am discovering a host of uses.

 

                                                                                                                                         Tomatoes are great for testing the product in the oven as the natural justness tests if the material is moisture resistant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tomatoes were put in the oven at 180, a popular temperature for cooking meals. I also tasted the cardboard and polymer in a microwave.

 

 

 

 

 
This initial modeling gave me the confidence to make a tray out of straw paper laminated with potato starch.

 

 

 

 

laminated carton-board being tested without food.

I did this to see if it burned.

You can see it didn’t burn :-))