According To Food Scientists, It Might Be Time To Double-Check That Stack Of Plastic Food Containers In Your Pantry

There’s often a price difference between brand-name food storage containers, like those from Rubbermaid and Tupperware, and containers made by generic brands (like supermarket house brands and big-box store brands). But is it worth ponying up some extra cash for a set of containers from a more established maker?

Trevor Craig, a scientist and food safety expert at Microbac Laboratories, said that “the name-brand companies specialize in making containers to best serve their use and business model, so they can be thicker, sturdier and better designed.” These companies built their reputations on reliable containers, and your extra dollars are paying in part for this assurance.

Budget-conscious shoppers in the year 2025 should know that “while historically there may have been some quality and material differences between brand-name food storage containers and generic ones, that gap is becoming increasingly smaller because Tupperware and Rubbermaid have been sold off to capital management groups or merged with larger conglomerates,” Le explained. So go ahead and pick up some off-brand containers (as long as you double-check the numeric codes on the bottom).

As for how long you can keep a plastic food storage container, Craig said that “there is no strict time frame,” but you should base your evaluations on its condition. “As a container ages and goes through the perils of being a container, it will start to crack, chip, warp and, to a lesser concern, smell and discolor,” he said. “Once it reaches a point where that is the case, that’s when the container should be recycled and replaced.”

Don’t use plastic containers that are more than 10 years old.