Fresh produce packaging
Fresh produce packaging has to do three things at once: hold the product through handling and transport, manage the water and heat it keeps giving off after harvest, and present it on shelf. The pack that gets one of those right and the other two wrong is the pack that comes back from retail.
VLM Poliplast manufactures custom fresh produce packaging in Bucharest for growers, packhouses and fresh-cut processors across the European Union: vented bags and sacks, zip-closure retail bags, flowpack bags, pouches, vacuum pouches, lidding film for trays and film slit to the width of your automatic line. Printed 1–8 colours to your artwork or supplied unprinted.
Perforation, slitting, pouch making and roll configuration are done in-house, and film is supplied in widths from 100 to 1300 mm. Fresh produce is one of the sectors on the industries page.
ISO 9001, ISO 22000, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 · Migration testing at an independent third-party laboratory · No intentionally added PFAS, in line with Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2025/40 · Printed 1–8 colours · Widths 100 to 1300 mm · EU manufacturer
Formats we make for fresh produce
The packing line and the retail channel decide the format. Ready-made bags are filled manually or semi-automatically; automatic lines take film, and the pack is formed on the machine. Any format can carry perforation where the product needs to breathe.
| Format | Where it is used | Functional features | Usual film |
| Vented bag and sack | Potatoes, onions, root vegetables, citrus, wholesale packs | Macro perforation, carry handle, eurohole, printed or plain | LDPE, single family |
| Zip-closure bag with handle | Retail fruit and vegetables reclosed at home: peppers, apples, cherries, grapes, radishes | Press-to-close zip, macro perforation, eurohole, cut handle | LDPE, single family |
| Centre-seal flowpack bag | Sleeved and portioned produce, manual and semi-automatic packing | Finished bags, micro or macro perforation, printed or clear | Single family or laminate |
| Three-side seal | Herbs, small portions, snack vegetables, single servings | Easy open, eurohole, micro perforation, window | Single family or laminate |
| Stand-up pouch | Dried fruit, nuts, prepared and snack vegetables | Zip closure, clear window, eurohole, shelf presentation | Laminate, or single family polypropylene |
| Quad seal bag | Bulk packs for wholesale, food service and processing | Four printable panels, 3-finger handle, high puncture resistance | Laminate or heavier LDPE |
| Custom-printed vacuum pouch | Peeled, cooked or otherwise processed vegetables | Made by lamination, high seal integrity, no perforation | Barrier laminate |
| Lidding film | Trays of soft fruit, mushrooms, prepared vegetables | Weld seal to the tray flange, anti-fog, perforation on request | Laminate with a CPP sealing layer |
| Film for automatic lines | Flow-pack and vertical form-fill-seal, where the pack forms on the machine | Slit to the working width of the line, perforated or anti-fog, printed or plain | Single family or laminate |
By product group
What the crop does after harvest decides the pack far more than what it looks like on shelf.
| Product group | What decides the pack | Ventilation | Usual format |
| Leafy salads and fresh-cut | High respiration, fast wilting, condensation visible to the shopper | Micro, with anti-fog | Film for an automatic line |
| Herbs | Very high respiration, small pack, low weight | Micro | Film for an automatic line, three-side seal |
| Soft fruit, grapes, cherries | Fragile, moisture management without drying, retail presentation | Micro or macro, by pack size | Zip bag, or lidding film on a tray |
| Apples, peppers, tomatoes | Reclosed at home, carried by hand, bruising | Macro | Zip-closure bag with handle |
| Potatoes and root vegetables | Weight, sharp edges, sweating, light exclusion for potatoes | Macro | Vented bag or sack with handle |
| Onions, garlic, citrus | Ventilation above all, product visibility, retail carry | Macro | Vented bag with eurohole and handle |
| Mushrooms | Very high respiration, bruising, condensation | Micro | Lidding film on a tray, or film for an automatic line |
| Peeled and processed vegetables | Shelf life without refrigeration loss, seal integrity | None, the pack must stay closed | Vacuum pouch |
| Dried fruit and nuts | Moisture and aroma barrier, reclosing, shelf presence | None | Stand-up pouch with zip |
| Bulk and wholesale | Pallet stacking, handling, no retail display | Macro | Heavy vented sack, quad seal bag |
Ventilation: micro or macro
Produce keeps respiring after harvest, so most of these packs are perforated. Micro-perforation gives a controlled exchange and still slows water loss, which is what salads, herbs and soft fruit need. Macro-perforation gives free ventilation for products that sweat and are handled hard: potatoes, onions, citrus, bulk packs.
Hole diameter, density and position are set per product and confirmed on your own crop before the series order. How the perforation is produced and specified is on perforated film.
Macro-perforated film with a printed white band
On automatic lines packing fruit and vegetables, part of the information on the pack changes from lot to lot: packing date, use-by date, batch number, weight. That data cannot be pre-printed on a large film run, because it would be out of date before the reel is used.
The answer is a white band printed across the film. Fixed information, logo, barcode, origin, is printed 1–8 colours outside the band; the rest of the film stays transparent so the product is visible; and your line prints the variable data onto the white band at packing. The band position and width are set on your line and your pack format.
When the pack has to stay closed
Not every produce pack is ventilated. Three cases are solved by the structure instead.
- Fogging in the chiller. The pack is correct, but condensate beads on the cold film and hides the product. Anti-fog treatment on the inner layer spreads it into a clear sheet. It is specified with the structure and validated in your own cabinet.
- Modified atmosphere. Where the pack holds an injected gas mix, it must not leak it, so the film is a barrier structure and perforation is out of the question. Barrier and ventilation are opposite requirements, and a product only ever needs one of them.
- Peeled and processed produce. Once the product is cut, cooked or peeled, it is no longer a respiring crop but a food with a shelf life, and it goes into a vacuum pouch or a barrier structure.
Bags for the packhouse, film for the line
Ready-made bags suit manual and semi-automatic packing, and they carry the features the retail channel asks for: eurohole, carry handle, zip closure, window.
Automatic lines take film, and the pack is formed on the machine. The film is slit to the working width of your line and calibrated to it: sealing temperature, coefficient of friction and unwind tension. Send those parameters with the specification and they are recorded on the technical data sheet delivered with the order.
Single-family structures for produce packs
Fresh produce is in a better position than most flexible packaging on recyclability, because a ventilated pack needs no barrier at all. That makes structures based predominantly on one polymer family the normal choice here rather than the compromise. They are designed to support NIR identification and compatibility with the PE or PP recycling stream, and they follow the RecyClass design-for-recycling guidelines.
EcoMonoFilm® covers single-family polyethylene and polypropylene structures, including variants with an EVOH barrier layer inside the same family, and perforated versions for produce packs. The timeline that matters for your specification is on the PPWR guide, and the fee side on eco-modulated EPR fees. VLM Poliplast does not issue a certified RecyClass class, and recyclability is assessed on the complete pack.
Compliance
All food-contact structures comply with Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 and Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2025/351, with a declaration of conformity issued per structure and migration testing at an independent third-party laboratory.
Regulation (EU) 2025/40, the PPWR, applies from 12 August 2026 to all packaging placed on the EU market. Recyclability performance grades apply from 1 January 2030, and the restriction on intentionally added PFAS in food-contact packaging, Article 5, applies from 12 August 2026. Production runs under ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, ISO 22000:2018 and ISO 45001:2018.
What you send, what you get back
What you send
The crop and how it is presented, whole, trimmed, fresh-cut or processed · Pack weight and pack dimensions · Where the pack goes: chilled cabinet, ambient shelf, wholesale pallet · The required shelf life · Packing line: flow-pack, vertical form-fill-seal, tray sealer, vacuum, semi-automatic or manual · Features: eurohole, handle, zip closure, window, printed white band · Print: number of colours, or unprinted
What you get back
A format and structure proposal for your crop and your chain · Full specifications: dimensions, film, ventilation, sealing parameters · How the structure is treated at end of life, stated plainly · Food-contact documentation for the structure · Order conditions confirmed at quotation · An unprinted sample from our own stock, for a trial run on your line
Losing product between the packhouse and the shelf?
Send the crop, the pack weight and the packing line. We come back with the format and the structure.
Frequently asked questions
Can you match a bag we already buy?
Usually, yes. Send a sample of the current bag and its technical data sheet if you have one. We measure the film, the format and the hole pattern, propose the equivalent structure and confirm it with a trial run on your line before the series order.
Can we print the batch data ourselves on the line?
Yes, that is what the printed white band is for. Fixed information is printed on the film in advance, outside the band, and your line prints the data that changes from lot to lot onto the band at packing. The band position and width are set on your pack format and your printer.
What is the minimum order quantity?
It varies with format, film, dimensions and the number of print colours, and printing is committed at series level. Send the specification and we confirm the minimum for that exact configuration before you plan the artwork.
Can you send samples before the first order?
Yes. We send unprinted samples from our own stock, so you can run the bag or the film on your line and put your own product in it. Samples do not carry your artwork, because printing is committed at series level.
Do you supply film for flow-pack and vertical form-fill-seal lines?
Yes. Film is supplied in widths from 100 to 1300 mm, slit to the working width of your line, perforated to specification, with anti-fog where the pack is chilled, printed or plain. It is calibrated to your line: sealing temperature, coefficient of friction and unwind tension, and those parameters are recorded on the technical data sheet.
What features can a produce bag carry?
Eurohole for display hanging, cut or reinforced carry handle for heavier packs, a press-to-close zip where the pack is reclosed at home, and a clear window on printed bags. Which of them you need follows the retail channel and the pack weight.
Who is responsible for PPWR compliance, the packer or the packaging supplier?
Both, for different things. The converter is responsible for the structure it supplies and for the documentation that comes with it. The producer placing the packed product on the EU market carries the obligations attached to that packaged product. This is why the end-of-life position of a structure is stated at quotation, in the specification.
What documents come with the delivery?
A technical data sheet for the structure, a certificate of conformity, and for food contact a declaration of compliance under Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 and Regulation (EU) No 10/2011. How the structure is treated at end of life is stated in the same documentation.
Related resources
Format
Polythene bags and sacks
Vented bags and heavy sacks for potatoes, onions and root vegetables, with handle and eurohole.
Format
Flowpack bags
Centre-seal bags for sleeved and portioned produce, filled manually or semi-automatically.
Format
Stand-up pouches
Resealable format for dried fruit, nuts and prepared vegetable snacks.
Perforation
Perforated film
How micro and macro perforation are produced and specified, and what changes between them.
Trays
Lidding film
Film welded to the tray flange on your sealer, with anti-fog and perforation options.
Recyclability
EcoMonoFilm®
Single-family polyethylene and polypropylene structures, with perforated variants for produce packs.
Request your custom quote
The crop, the pack weight and the packing line are enough to start. Whole produce, fresh-cut, processed or dried each lead to a different format, so naming the product moves the answer straight away.
Printed 1–8 colours · Unprinted samples from stock · Widths 100 to 1300 mm · ISO 9001, 14001, 22000, 45001