Container security is vital as vulnerabilities can impact production environments. To create secure container images, developers should follow these five best practices: 1) Secure code and dependencies using integrated scanning tools; 2) Start with a minimal base image from a trusted source like Docker Hub; 3) Manage all layers between the base image and your code by prioritizing necessary tools and removing extras; 4) Use access management to limit user operations over container resources, following the principle of least privilege; and 5) Secure container infrastructure, including registries and orchestration platforms like Kubernetes.