Food package

Abstract: The invention relates to a package (10) for food product useful for boil-in-bag or microwave. Said package comprises a sealed flexible pouch with a web (12) of oriented material having a slit (13) in the direction of the orientation (11) of the material which is covered by an adhesive membrane (14). The package is opened and emptied by inverting the package and pulling in edges of the package substantially parallel with the slit.

Description: The invention relates to a package for food products useful for boil-in-bag or microwave. Packages for boil-in-bag are well-known and are the most used for frozen food. The bag may e.g. contain a meal which once prepared has been thawed and cooked within the bag. These packages are cheap and comprise a sealed pouch, which has to be opened with scissors when the food is heated. The obligation of scissors is not very convenient. Also known are Boil-in-bag packages which are opened by pulling of a tab which tears off a strip from the package. The tearing of the strip may take place along weakening lines in the packaging material. Other packages comprise mono-oriented material having V- or U-shaped pre-cuts. Due to the mono-orientation of the material a strip of the material can be torn from the package though it is not provided with weakening lines. Such a package is described in EP-A-478 812. Packages to which handles are attached to ease the opening of the package are described in EP-A-218 419. The requirement of consumers is that a boil-in-bag should be easy to handle, i.e. to open and empty without any danger of burning fingers and spilling of or splashing with the content of the bag. The above discussed packages do not fulfil these requirements sufficiently. For example, emptying by tilting of a package having a strip opening gives an uneven pouring and soiling of the outer surface of the package, while turning downwards the opening will result in splashing of the content. We have devised a package which overcomes the above drawbacks and fulfils the requirements of opening and emptying the bag. According to the invention a package is provided which is emptied by unsealing, inverting and subsequent opening the package. The package is provided with an oriented web having a slit which when the package is inverted faces downwards. In this position, the opening of the package is done by simply pulling the sides of the package in opposite directions. This will open the slit and the package along the orientation and allow the content to slide out of the packaging and directly into e.g. a receiving bowl without any spilling or splashing or any risk of burning the fingers. In this way the opening along the slit and the orientation of the web will provide the same effect as if the pouch had been cut open by a knife. Consequently, the present invention provide an easy handling, opening and emptying of the package without any need for: finding and pulling a small tab or strip, risk of burning the fingers and spilling the content of the package. A further advantage of the present invention is that the design of the package allows a simple manufacture thereof. Accordingly, in a first aspect, the present invention provides a package comprising a sealed flexible pouch with a web of oriented material having a slit in the direction of the orientation of the material and covered by an adhesive membrane removable attached to the Package to allow the slit to be unsealed and uncovered prior to opening of the package. The material preferably has one or alternatively two orientations. This kind of material will resist a tear in directions transverse to the orientations, but once a tear is initiated in the direction of the orientation, the tear will continue along a straight line in this direction. Consequently, the web is provided with slit or slits along orientations. In an embodiment according to the invention employing material having two orientations web material, the web may be provided with a slit or slits along one orientation or alternatively with a cut in the shape of a cross having arms running in the directions of the orientations. The adhesive membrane seals the pouch and prevents premature tearing or spreading of the slit in the web. The adhesive membrane may cover one or more slits positioned along a line in the direction of the mono-orientation. Alternatively, these slits may be covered by a number of adhesive membranes. Due to the mono-orientation of the material, pulling in the pouch on opposite sides of the slit will only result in a prolonging or spreading of the slit in the direction of the orientation. In order to ease the handling and inverting of the package, the package is preferably welded together substantially parallel with the orientation of the material and on opposite sides of the slit or slits. It is preferred that the package comprises a second web which is welded to the web of oriented material. This creates at least two rims or strips of material which can function as handles. After heating and peeling off the adhesive membrane, by gripping the rims, the package is easily inverted and opened when the rims are pulled in opposite directions. The second web may be of any flexible material which can be welded to the oriented web. If the package is used in a microwave, the adhesive membrane lifts, due to the increase of pressure inside the pack and therefore ventilates, and thus avoids the risk of exploding. If the package is used in boiling water, the adhesive membrane stays closed due to different temperature ranges involved and the lower pressure present in the package compared with those of a package heated in a microwave oven. The adhesive used for the adhesive membrane is a pressure sensitive hotmelt adhesive, e.g. the commercial available ECOMELT™ L302. The membrane itself may be made of polymer film e.g. polyester or polypropylene film. The material of the web is any oriented plastic used for food contact and preferably a mono-oriented polyester or polyamide laminated polyethylene. The pouch may comprise webs of other material sealable to the mono-oriented web. For example webs of polyamide or polyethylene. In another aspect, the invention relates to a method for emptying a package of food product comprising a sealed flexible pouch with a web of oriented material, said method comprises removing an adhesive membrane covering a slit in the web which is positioned in the direction of the orientation, so as to unseal and uncover it, positioning the package with the slit facing downwards, and pulling in the web transverse to the orientation so that opposite sides of the slit part. The present invention will now be further illustrated by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 illustrates a top view of a package when sealed, Fig. 2 illustrates a top view of an open package, and Fig. 3 illustrates a side view of a package. Fig. 1 shows a package (10) comprises a sealed flexible pouch with a web (12) of oriented material having a slit (13). The slit (13) is in the direction of the orientation (11) of the material. In order to seal the package the slit (13) is covered by an adhesive membrane (14). The package (10) is provided with welded edge seams (15) which ease the handling and inverting of the package. The arrows in Fig. 1 indicate the direction the edges are to be pulled in order to open the package (10). In Fig. 3 the package (10) comprises a sealed flexible pouch with a top web (12) of oriented material welded to a lower web (17) along the edges so that an edge seam (15) is created. The package (10) is opened to the position shown in Fig. 2 by peeling of the adhesive membrane (14), inverting the package and pulled the edges (15) in opposite directions. As a result of these actions the slit (13) will run along the orientation, and an opening (16) is created in the pouch.

Claims: Package for food product useful for boil-in-bag or microwave comprising a sealed flexible pouch with a web of oriented material having a slit in the direction of the orientation of the material which is covered by an adhesive membrane removable attached to the package to allow the slit to be unsealed and uncovered prior to opening of the package. Package according to claim 1, wherein the web is of mono-oriented material. Package according to claims 1 and 2, wherein the flexible pouch has a plurality of slits positioned along a line in the direction of the orientation of the material. Package according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the web is a mono-oriented plastic film. Package according to claim 4, wherein the mono-oriented plastic film is of polyester or polyamide laminated to polyethylene. Package according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the package comprises a second web which is welded together with the web of oriented material substantially parallel with the orientation of the material and on opposite sides of the slit or slits. Method for emptying a package of food product comprising a sealed flexible pouch with a web of oriented material, said method comprises removing an adhesive membrane covering a slit in the web which is positioned in the direction of the orientation so as to unseal and uncover it, positioning the package with the slit facing downwards, and pulling in the web transverse to the orientation so that opposite sides of the slit part.

Inventors: SJOEBERG ELISABETH, SJOEBERG, ELISABETH, Sjöberg, Elisabeth
Applicants: NESTLE SA, SOCIETE DES PRODUITS NESTLE S.A.
Application year: 1995
Main classification: B65D75
IPC codes: B65D65, B65D81, B65D75