Patent ID: 7534615

Claim:
A process for detecting a leak in a package, the process comprising: (A) preparing a package comprising a tray having an O 2 -barrier film adhered to an inside surface thereof, and an O 2 -sensitive product disposed on the tray, and a multilayer film over the product, the multilayer film also being sealed to the O 2 -barrier film of the tray, the package having a low O 2 environment therein, the multilayer film comprising: (i) a leak-indicator layer in which an O 2 -sensitive indicator is present throughout the leak-indicator layer; and (ii) an O 2 -barrier layer outward of the leak-indicator layer; (B) illuminating the leak-indicator layer with a light containing a wavelength absorbed by the O 2 -sensitive indicator, so that the O 2 -sensitive indicator produces an emission of radiation in an amount inversely proportional to a concentration of O 2 present with the O 2 -sensitive indicator; and (C) scanning the multilayer film manually or with an automated imaging system, while the O 2 -sensitive indicator is emitting radiation, the scanning being carried out by comparing the amount of radiation emitted from at least two different regions of the multilayer film, where a difference in emitted radiation indicates the location of a leak.