Patent ID: 8858077

Claim:
A reclosable package comprising a pouch of flexible material defining an interior volume and an opening providing access to the interior volume; and a reclosable closure secured to the flexible material adjacent the opening and operable to releasably retain the opening of the pouch in a closed state after partial removal of contents from the interior volume, the closure comprising fastenable closure strips extending along at least portions of opposite sides of the opening; wherein the closure strips are releasably fastenable in multiple relative positions spaced along each of two perpendicular directions; wherein the closure and flexible material of the pouch are configured to provide a maximum stiffness, in resistance to bending about a pouch axis extending along the pouch perpendicular to the closure strips, as determined at a point along the closure with the closure strips fastened, that is at least 10 times the maximum stiffness, in resistance to bending about the pouch axis, of one of the closure strips as secured to the flexible material, as determined at the point along the closure with the closure strips unfastened; and wherein the closure extends from a first side edge region of the pouch to a second side edge region of the pouch along a top region of the pouch such that, when the closure strips are fastened, the closure inhibits the flexible material of the pouch adjacent the closure from becoming deformed.