Pizza box

The pizza box has to be highly resistant, cheap, stackable, thermally insulated to regulate humidity and suitable for food transportation.

In the beginning they attempted to deliver pizzas in simple corrugated boxes, similar to those used in cake shops, but these often became wet, bent or even broke in two.

[3] The combination of such slots along with water vapour absorbing materials (absorption agent) prevented the humidity build-ups that characterized traditional transport packaging.

[7] The new model held heat better, allowed grease to drain, and was made of compostable, biodegradable bagasse (fibers from sugar cane).

[9] Not only the geometric construction of the cardboard determines the stability of the box, but also especially the type of paper and its grammage.

To reduce the space needed to store the packaging to a minimum, the pizza boxes are folded just before use out of flat blanks.

[9] Pizza boxes made from solid fiber board take up about half the space the boxes with E flute size cardboard need, and a quarter of the space of those made of B flute size cardboard.

To reduce heat flow, the box has to close as firmly as possible to keep the warm air inside.

[10] To ensure this, the condensation caused by the pizza must be let out (airing holes and some diffusion through the cardboard) or absorbed by the box.

[10] The oil in the pizza dough contaminates untreated corrugated cardboard, making it unsuitable for paper recycling.

The pizza crust cannot give up any humidity downwards, meaning the layer beneath does not only impedes fat from trickling down but also steam.

[citation needed] However, if the temperature of the pizza goes below a certain value, the "Hot Dot" turns black and the words are no longer legible.

It is made out of recyclable plastic, is round or square has a variety of cover options with vents.

Another variation is biodegradable or compostable boxes mostly made out of sugarcane or bamboo or plant based materials.

[citation needed] However, a study found that pizza boxes with small amounts of food debris does not prevent recycling.