A lot of kettle corn business owners overlook the quality of the plastic kettle corn bags that they use. It can seem like a very insignificant or trivial subject, but on the contrary, it's an extremely important detail to pay close attention to. The first and most important issue to consider with kettle corn bags, is could the bags be toxic, or in other words, will they bleed plastic toxins into the hot popped kettle corn. The other issue is durability and heat tolerance. While the bags may remain in good shape in your care, it's important to consider how durable they will be for your kettle corn clients. In this brief article I will go into depth about which bags you should buy, which bags you should avoid, and why it's important to make sure you're using quality bags only. I don't actually sell kettle corn bags or equipment on this website yet, but I do have plans to eventually add a small shopping center here, so be sure and stay tuned for that future site development.
With regard to toxic plastic kettle corn bags, basically my own personal golden rule is to avoid buying plastic bags that have been manufactured outside of the United States. This isn't very hard for me to do, because I go out of my way to buy local or domestic products only, as I'm a firm believer in supporting one's community, and if that isn't possible, to support one's country. The reason this is a particularly good strategy for kettle corn bags, is that most bags that are made in the USA, are done so with the intent that they will be used for food packaging, and thus they are manufactured to a very high quality standard. These standards are likely much lower outside of the US, and thus you might be getting some toxic bleed off from the plastic. If you aren't aware, plastic photodegradates, in other words it's molecular structure will break down from sunlight. US safety standards test for this, so again be sure to buy US made food safe plastic bags only.
Regardless of the brand of domestic US bags that you buy, quality test them before selling them to your customers. For example, pack a half dozen bags full of fresh hot kettle corn, as you would in a commercial setting, and then give them out to friends and family, and keep a couple for yourself as well. Put them to the test, toss them around a bit, bang them up a little, and see how well they hold up to use. The last thing you want is to be selling kettle corn to your prized clients, and then have your bags blowing out or tearing open in use. What will usually cause low quality bags to tear apart, is the fact that they are in contact with hot kettle corn, and particularly the blazing hot kernels. The bags I use are so darn tough and high quality, that a scorching hot popcorn kernel won't even be able to burn through the bag or create a hole in it. That is how tough you want them to be. For your customers sake, do be sure to thoroughly test out your plastic bags for durability.
Another thing to consider about your plastic kettle corn bags, is the smell and feel of the bags. Take your fresh unused bags out of their packaging, and smell them inside and out. High quality bags will not have any smell to them, or almost zero. Poor quality bags will have a rich plastic smell. Obviously you don't want to pack kettle corn into a bag that bleeds a plastic aroma into your kettle corn. The other issue is the feel of the plastic bags. Absolutely do not use plastic bags that have a dusty or even a lightly greasy feel to them, as again that will mean you've got a foreign chemical on them, such as a toxic plastic softener or manufacturing residue, which obviously you don't want anywhere near your fresh kettle corn. Paying attention to small details like these is all part of being a very responsible business owner, something you cannot neglect in an industry where food is involved. So really go the extra mile to make sure your plastic bags are safe for your customers.
