CA1276913C - Perforated cook-in shrink bag - Google Patents

Perforated cook-in shrink bag

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Publication number
CA1276913C
CA1276913C CA000516257A CA516257A CA1276913C CA 1276913 C CA1276913 C CA 1276913C CA 000516257 A CA000516257 A CA 000516257A CA 516257 A CA516257 A CA 516257A CA 1276913 C CA1276913 C CA 1276913C
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
bag
film
slits
tube
perforated
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
CA000516257A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Timothy Theodore Oberle
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
WR Grace and Co Conn
Original Assignee
WR Grace and Co Conn
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by WR Grace and Co Conn filed Critical WR Grace and Co Conn
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1276913C publication Critical patent/CA1276913C/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Abstract

ABSTRACT
In order to reduce splitting in a perforated, heat shrinkable, thermoplastic bags made from seamless tubing, rather than employ needle punched perforations, it has been discovered that slits cut by a knife blade will surprisingly reduce the splitting when a product, such as a meat product, is cooked within the bag.

Description

~76~3 .

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This invention relates to ~hermoplastic, heat shrinkable bags in which a food product i8 cooked. More par~icularly, the invention relate~ to perforated, heat shrinkable bags ln which meat products such as turkey breast, ham or the like may be baked or roastedO

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In order to hold meat sections together, prevent dryness; and preserve tenderness it has been found desirable to cook certain meat products within a plastic bag. Many cook-in bags or bake-in bags or pouches are currently avsilable on the market.

In order to obtain the benefits of belng a roasted or baked product, moisture must be allowed to sscape from the cook-in bag and one way of doing this has been to perorate the bag. The perforations also prevent ballooning and collection of moisture which can possibly lead to uneven cooking .

In order to perforate ehe fllm from which plastic bags are made, needle perforation has been u~ed in th2 past with both hot and cold needles. Also, in some instances, perforations have been made with flame applled to the film as it passes over a selectively cooled drum.

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In certain commercial oper~tions, it ls particularly desirable to use a shrinkable bag or pouch to hold turkey breast, ham, or other meat sections or parts closely together. Shrinkable bags which have been needle perforated have produced undesirable tears and splltting as the bag shrinks around the product and is placed under tension during the cooking process Accordingly, it is one object of the present invention to provide a perforated, shrink bag which will resist splitting when shrunk and which is satisfactory for roasting or baking a meat product therein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect, the present invention is a perforated shrink bag in which meat products may be cooked comprising:
(a) a body formed from a seamless, heat shrinkable tube of thermoplastic Eilm;
(b) a bag bo-ttom formed from a transverse heat seal closing one end of the tube, and a bag mouth at the other end of the tube;
(c) an array of spaced apart perforations in the body of said bag, said perforations being arrayed and spaced apart relative to each other in both the transverse and longitudinal directions of the bag, each perforation being an elongated slit aligned to extend in the transverse direction of the bag and the slits being dimensioned both in length and in the space between slits sufficiently such that when the bag is heat shrunk during cook-in with said meat product enclosed therein, splitting of the tube film is reduced as compared to needle perforated film.
Preferably the slits are 1/16" to 3/32" long.
In another aspect, the present invention provides in the process of making a perforated bag from thermoplastic, heat shrinkable film in which meat products are cooked, the improvement 2~7~

which comprises perforating the bag by slitting the Eilm from wh.ich the bag is made in an array of transversely aligned slits sufficient such that when the bag is heat shrunk during cook-in with a product enclosed therein splitting of the film is reduced æ~769~3 during cook-in, as compared to needle perforated film. This slit-ting is preferably done by a v-shaped knife blade and the slits are preferably spaced 3/4" to 1 1/4" apart transversely and longitudinally. The improvement is particularly useful for perforating two layers oE film with one stroke of the perforating instrument such as perforating a lay flat tubing and is also particularly useful where the film thickness is 4.0 mils or less.
In another aspect, the invention is a package comprising: (a) a meat product; (b) a perforated, seamless thermoplastic tube closed a~ one end enclosing the product within the tube; (c) said tube being shrunken around the product; (d) said perforations being slits; and (e) said perforations being sufficient such that when the tube was heat shrunk during cook-in with the product enclosed therein splitting of the tube was reduced during cook-in, as compared to a needle perforated tube.
In a typical process, a rolled turkey breast, for example, would be stuffed into a perforated bag according to the present invention, the bag closed, heat shrunk, the turkey breast roasted in an oven, and thereafter cooled and packaged in a vacuum bag for distribution into retail outlets such as delicatessens, restaurants or institutional cafeterias.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Appended hereto and made a part of this disclosure are the drawings in which:

~ 7~3 Figure 1 i8 a schematlc repr2sentatlon of a bag according to the present inven~lon showing exaggerated form the slits therein; and, Figure 2 i~ a section ln schematic form and exaggerated detail from the bag material of ~igure 1 showing the slits according to the present invention.

DE~AIL~ nl~

In Figur~ 1 perforated bag 1 i8 shown having a open end designated as mouth 2 for receiving a product therein and a closed end sealed by end seal 3 defining the bottom of the bag. Margin 4 extend~ beyond the seal and perforations 5 are arrayed over the bag surface as shown. Figure 2 shows the perforations 5 in bag 1 in greater de~all.

Bag 1 is preferably formed from a seamless tube of thermoplastic materlal.
A typicsl lay flat width of the material i8 1O~ and a preferred thickne~s would be about 2.4 mils. The closed end i8 formed by an end seal 3 whlch is a heat seal made by the appllcation of heat and pressure so that for ~his embodimen~ lt is dPsirable that the interior layer of the bag material be formed from a heat sealable material.

A preferred bag material i~ one made from a mulei-layer thermo~lastic film having at least one layer of an ionomer for the sealing layer, said ionomer ~'~i' being one of those sold under the brand name "Surlyn." The senlin~ layer will be the layer whlch forms the inner face of the bag and is the layer sealed ~o itself to make the bag end seal. An additional layer of a blend of ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer and linear low density polyethylene make a quite satisfactory multl-layer film. A particularly preferred film layer construction i6 one a8 follows:
~-Ir~ ~ ~ r~
401/851004/1/4 - S~ --` ~ 271~3 , . ..

15/85 (ionomer + LLDPE)/ 70/30 (EVA~LLDPE)/ 50/50 (EVA~LLDPE) The linear low density polyethylene is preferably one of those 501d under the "Dowlex" brand and the ratio of the blend is 85% linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) with 15~ Surlyn ionomer. In the 70%/30~ blend of ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) with LLDPE, the vinyl acetaee content of the EVA is 9%. In the 50%/50% blend of EVA and LLDPE the vinyl acetate content is o~ in the EVA. The multi-layer structure is coextruded, cross-linked by irradiation to a low dosa~e, namely, a dosa~e level in the range of 0.5 to 2 MR, to cross link the cross-linkable polymers and, in this instance, the EVA and LLDPE cross-link. The material is then biaxially oriented by the "trapped bubble" technique which is well known to those skilled in the art. The result from the process is a biaxially oriented tubing which is rolled up in lay flat for~ and the preferred widths are about 10". Thickness may range from 2.0 to 4.0 mils.

In general, as the sealing layer, ethylene-acrylic acid copolymers (EAA) may be used. The Surlyn ionomers are ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymers (~A) neutral~ed with a ~inc or sodium salt. These copolyme~s will give adhesion with or without the metal neutrali~ation. Surlyn ionomerl being relatively expensive, is used in a low proportion in the blend but ln sufficient concentration to give the desired sealing properties. Thus, in the preferred sealing layer blend the proportion is 85% LLDPE and 15~
ionomer for adequate sealing with lowest ionomer concentration. To improve sealing, if needed, a blend of 80/20 of $onomer/LLDPE could be used.

To perforate the lay flat tubing both cold and hot needles were first tried.
~eed~es which would pe~etrate both l~yers produced film which produced an 7~3 unacceptably high number of split bags when ~he bags were heat shrunk around a product. Increaqing the gauge or thirkness alleviated ehe problem somewhat but to make a material thicker than nece~sary is an uneconomical consumptlon of relatively expensive thermoplastic materials~

In the prior art, perforated films have been made ln single layer for~ with hot needles, cold needles, and by the applicstion of flame. Afterwards3 the single layer is formed into a tube or bag. A typical bag of th~ single layer film that is sealed in panels is shown in V.S. Patent No. 4,503,561 which issued on March 5, 1985 to Edward C. Bruno. The bag discl~sed ln the aforementioned patent has at least two distinct panels of fllm and the panels have sllts in them to provide a ventilated bag.

In order to use an economically thin tube material and to perforate the tubing in one operation so that a seamless tube can be used to produce a bag wlth a mlnimum number of 6ealing operations, it has been surprisingly discovered that sllts may be cut into the tubing to produce the required perforations. The perforations may be put in by hand with a v-blade knife or a roll provided wi~h spaced apart knife blades across its surface in the deslred spacing and array. To achieve the proper distribu~ion of slits it is found that the blades should be moun~ed ln a helical manner or a roll.
Thls arrangement aids in the slitting and removal of the knife from the slie. The preferred slit length is 1/16" to 3/32" and a spacing transversely of 3/4" to 1~" has been found ~o be qulte satisfactory. The same spacing range ls sati6factory for the longitudinal spaclng of the slits.

In a 10" lay flat width bag accordlng to the present invention, a 9 to 10 lb. turkey breast readily fits. The turkey breast is preferably cooked to 401/851004/1/6 - ~ -~27~

an internal temperature of about 160F with the maximum oven temperature ln the range of about 170F.

Typically the bag i8 stuffed with the breast of turkey and pressed so that the entrapped air wlll escape through the perforation~. The bag can either be clipped or the excess bag neck folded under the product when the product i8 placed on oven racks. It is during the cooking process that the shrinkable material shrink6 with predominantly transverse shrink tenslon thereby keeping the breast compressed and firm. The transverse perforatlons or slits withstand this 6hrinking tran6ver~ely quite well. Shrinkage in the longitudinal direction occurs but the internal ~tress is not in the same order of magnitude as the transverse tension i8 . Thus, a quite satisfactory cooked product with an unspl~t bag can be produced. After cooking, the product is ~hen cooled, packed in a vacuum bag under evacuated conditlons, sealed, and shipped to a delicatessens or othe~ outlets for consumption.

While the foregoing is a description of one embodiment of the present invention, it is understood that the above dis losure is by way of illustration only and i8 not limiting to the invention which i8 further defined in the claims which follo~:

Claims (15)

1. A perforated shrink bag in which meat products may be cooked comprising:
(a) a body formed from a seamless, heat shrinkable tube of thermoplastic film;
(b) a bag bottom formed from a transverse heat seal closing one end of the tube, and a bag mouth at the other end of the tube;
(c) an array of spaced apart perforations in the body of said bag, said perforations being arrayed and spaced apart relative to each other in both the transverse and longitudinal directions of the bag, each perforation being an elongated slit aligned to extend in the transverse direction of the bag and the slits being dimensioned both in length and in the space between slits sufficiently such that when the bag is heat shrunk during cook-in with said meat product enclosed therein, splitting of the tube film is reduced as compared to needle perforated film.
2. The bag of claim 1 wherein said film thickness is in the range of 2.0 to 4.0 mils and the slits are 1/16" to 3/32" long.
3. The bag of claim 1 wherein the slits are spaced apart in the range of 3/4" to 1 1/4" both transversely and longitudinally.
4. The bag of claim 1 wherein the film is a multi-layer film having a sealing layer comprising a polymer selected from the group consisting of EAA, EMAA ionomers and blends of an ionomer, EMA or EMAA with a polyolefin; and, at least one other layer comprising a blend of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer and linear low density polyethylene.
5. In the process of making a perforated bag from thermoplastic, heat shrinkable film in which meat products are cooked, the improvement which comprises perforating the bag by slitting the film from which the bag is made in an array of transversely aligned slits sufficient such that when the bag is heat shrunk during cook-in with a product enclosed therein splitting of the film is reduced during cook-in, as compared to needle perforated film.
6. The improvement of claim 5 wherein the slits are in the range of 1/16" to 3/32" in length.
7. The improvement of claim 5 wherein the film is a multi-layer film having a sealing layer comprising an ionomer resin or blend of an ionomer with a polyolefin and at least one other layer comprising a blend of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer and linear low density polyethylene.
8. The improvement of claim 5 wherein the transverse and longitudinal spacing of the slits is in the range of 3/4" to 1 1/4".
9. The improvement of claim 5 wherein the slitting is performed by a v-shaped knife blade.
10. The improvement of claim 9 wherein the heat shrinkable film is 4 mils thick or less.
11. The improvement of claim 9 wherein at least two layers of film are perforated by a single stroke of the knife.
12. A package comprising:
(a) a meat product;
(b) a perforated, seamless thermoplastic tube closed at one end enclosing the product within the tube;
(c) said tube being shrunken around the product;
(d) said perforations being slits; and (e) said perforations being sufficient such that when the tube was heat shrunk during cook-in with the product enclosed therein splitting of the tube was reduced during cook-in, as compared to a needle perforated tube.
13. The package of claim 12 wherein the slits are in the range of 1/16" to 3/32" long.
14. The package of claim 12 wherein the slits are spaced transversely and longitudinally apart in the range of 3/4" to 1 1/4".
15. The package of claim 12 wherein the multi-layer film material comprises an ionomer resin or a blend of an ionomer with a polyolefin and at least one other layer comprising a blend of vinyl acetate copolymer and linear low density polyethylene.
CA000516257A 1985-10-08 1986-08-19 Perforated cook-in shrink bag Expired - Lifetime CA1276913C (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US78541985A 1985-10-08 1985-10-08
US785,419 1985-10-08

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1276913C true CA1276913C (en) 1990-11-27

Family

ID=25135469

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA000516257A Expired - Lifetime CA1276913C (en) 1985-10-08 1986-08-19 Perforated cook-in shrink bag

Country Status (4)

Country Link
JP (1) JPS6294549A (en)
AU (1) AU6207886A (en)
CA (1) CA1276913C (en)
NZ (1) NZ217193A (en)

Family Cites Families (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS6054286B2 (en) * 1979-09-18 1985-11-29 江澤 林 immune enhancer

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
NZ217193A (en) 1992-12-23
AU6207886A (en) 1987-04-09
JPS6294549A (en) 1987-05-01

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