FR2757743A1 - Procedure for the preparation of containers for the storage of living sea creatures - Google Patents

Abstract

The procedure, for the preparation of a container for the preparation for packing of living sea creatures, which are of the type to be arranged on the bottom (1) of the tank, which is covered with a layer of paper, which has been shredded and soaked in water. The soaked and shredded paper is then compressed in an assembly, in order to transform it into a partially dried, dense agglomerate. The dense agglomerate is then broken up and crumbled to form a series of compact balls (4) of different sizes. These compact balls are then arranged on the bottom of the container, designed to receive the living sea creatures.

Description

The present invention relates to a process for preparing a container for packaging live marine worms. The container according to the invention is intended to receive more particularly marine worms of the Perinereis AihîJiieiisis species (nereid of the Asian coasts, also called "hard" in France),
Perinereis Nuntia (other nereid of Asian coasts), Periiîe, 'ìs Cultrifera (nereid of Asian and European coasts), Nervis J' erwco1oi (nereid which one finds in particular in France, also called "semi-hard") and A4cll7) hyscl illllil) eLI (eunice which is found in particular on the Asian and European coasts).

 Peach worms are usually packed in small containers of various shapes and types, in which a moist support is placed to receive them. The supports commonly used for the conditioning of marine worms are, for example, algae, seagrass of the eelgrass type, sand, earth, peat, etc. A support based on crumpled and moistened paper is also used, in the folds of which the worms can move comfortably.

 The object of the invention is to propose a new process for the preparation of a container for the packaging of live marine worms, in particular those belonging to the aforementioned species, of the type consisting in placing in the bottom of a container paper which has been shredded into shreds and then soaked in water so as to soak and soften it, which is such that the container obtained by this process essentially allows sea worms to be kept alive in the best conditions and for longer than by past, as well as significantly improving their presentation.

 To this end, the process for preparing a container according to the invention also consists, before placing said strips of moistened paper in the bottom of said container, in compressing all of said moistened strips in order to transform it into dense agglomerates and to dehumidify partially said flaps so that they are not saturated with water, and to crumble said agglomerates so as to obtain compact pellets of different sizes, and in that it consists in placing said pellets in the bottom of said container in an airy manner and in a regular layer corresponding to the entire surface of said bottom.

 The compression to which all of said moistened flaps are subjected is advantageously such that said flaps remain moist after being compressed, while retaining good absorbency.

 According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, said method for preparing said container furthermore consists in recycling a portion of said strips soaked in water in a mill intended to operate in a humid environment, so as to further reduce the dimensions of said moistened strips.

 Preferably, said method consists in using salt water for soaking said shreds of shredded paper.

 Optionally, said method also consists in placing at the bottom of the container one or more complementary supports available in nature and which do not decompose quickly naturally.

 According to a first embodiment relating to this option, said method consists in placing the complementary support or supports on the bottom of said container, then in disposing said paper balls on said or said supports.

 According to a second embodiment relating to this option, said method consists in mixing with said pellets the complementary support or supports. then placing the mixture obtained in the bottom of said container.

 Also optionally, said method also consists in introducing inside said container a chemical or biochemical aid for preservation and / or presentation.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, said method consists in using for said container a box provided with a lid.

 Preferably, said cover has ventilation openings.

The characteristics of the invention mentioned above, as well as others, will appear more clearly on reading the following description of an exemplary embodiment, said description being made in relation to the attached drawing in which:
Fig. a single is an exploded perspective view of a preferred example of a container for packaging live marine worms, prepared according to the method of the invention.

 The container shown in FIG. single consists of a rigid or quasi-rigid box, which itself consists of a bottom I and a cover 2 In this embodiment, the cover 2 is provided to cover the side walls of the bottom I when '' it is in the closed position.

There is shown in FIG. single orifices 3 formed in the cover 2
These orifices 3 are provided to ventilate the interior of the container. According to an alternative embodiment, said cover 2 may not be perforated. In that case,
The aeration of the contents of the container is ensured by the very structure of the material used for said container, such as cardboard.

 The container according to the invention comprises at its bottom 1 means provided to serve as a support for the worms.

 Said means intended to serve as support for the worms essentially comprise a litter 4 based on moistened paper. Litter 4 according to the invention is obtained by implementing the following method.

 Paper of variable shape and thickness is used for the preparation of said litter 4, said paper possibly being thin or cardboard.

 The origin of the paper used can be a function, on the one hand, of the physical characteristics sought for said paper, such as its malleability or its absorbency and. on the other hand, any decorative characteristics, such as its color. The latter is chosen so as to improve the presentation of the worms in said container. As an indication, it is possible, for example, to use colored paper generally used in office or fine art stationery, or alternatively recycled paper which has been treated so as to remove traces of ink therefrom.

 According to an alternative embodiment, it is also possible to combine papers of various origins to obtain the basic material of the litter 4.

 According to a first step of the method according to the invention, the paper or papers used are reduced to shreds of variable dimensions, this operation being able to be carried out manually or else by means of a grinder or a shredder, for example . As for the flaps obtained, they can either have similar or dissimilar shapes. As a guide, they have on average dimensions of a few mm.

 According to a second step of said process, said flaps of paper are soaked in water, so that they are saturated with liquid.

 Advantageously, salt water is used, such as sea water, brackish water or reconstituted sea water.

 Optionally, said flaps are brought into contact with a dye at the same time as they are soaked in water, so as to smell them take on a particular color which improves the presentation of the worms.

According to a particular embodiment of the method according to the invention,
I recycle a part of said shreds soaked in water in a crusher designed to operate in a humid environment, known as a pulper by a person skilled in the art, so as to further reduce the dimensions of the shreds initially shredded in a dry atmosphere and soaked in water.

 According to a third step of the process according to the invention, the hardened flaps are partially dehumidified by draining followed by pressing, so that high density agglomerates are obtained which are not saturated with water and whose power absorbent is maintained to a large extent.

 The above-mentioned draining and pressing can be carried out manually, or else a screw or filter press, for example, which can be used to drain and press simultaneously the moistened and possibly crushed flaps.

 As a guide, the mass moisture content characterizing said drained and pressed flaps is substantially between 50 and 80%.

According to a fourth step of said process, the wet and agglomerated flaps resulting from the pressing operation are then roughly crumbled so as to constitute a relatively regular bed of wet paper pellets. These pellets are respectively formed from aggregates of small paper particles, and they constitute the aforementioned litter 4. They are characterized by a high density, and their respective dimensions are substantially between 3 mm and 20
Said means intended to serve as a support for worms can also optionally include one or more complementary supports available in nature and / or one or more natural or synthetic products.

The complementary support (s) 5 can for example consist of algae, sea grasses, sand. peat, mud, sawdust, crushed shells, various clays or any mineral material suitable for the good conservation of marine worms. In addition, these complementary supports 5 must not consist of substances which decompose rapidly naturally, such as food, so as not to deteriorate the health of said sea worms. By rapid decomposition is meant a decomposition whose first effects are visible after a few hours, at most a few days
These additional supports are intended in particular to provide worms with maximum physical comfort and thus optimize their state of health and therefore their lifespan.

 It will also be noted that the marine worms belonging to the above-mentioned species, which are preferably concerned with the container according to the invention, never feed in captivity. Consequently, the preservation of said worms alive is not penalized by the absence of food in said container.

 Said natural or synthetic products are in particular intended to further extend the shelf life of living marine worms. Additionally, they may be intended to further improve the presentation of the worms on the litter 4, or else the appearance and cleanliness thereof.

 These products can for example be manufactured or used in the chemical industries. Mention may for example be made of natural products of the salt or various metal type (NaCI, KC1, MgCl2, NaSO4, K2HP04, Ca ++, etc.), trace elements, or else synthetic products of the type of various preservatives, acidity correctors.

 As regards said natural products, they can also consist of various bacteria, enzymes, other products used in bio-industries, or even mineral materials relating to the extraction industry.

 As for said synthetic products can also be manufactured in the pharmaceutical industry. Mention may be made of anesthetic products (phenobarbital, for example), antiseptics, anti-stress, antibiotics (tetracycline, trimethoprime, chlorotetracycline, sulfonamide, sulfamethoxasol, pentamycin, for example), anti-inflammatories, antifungals, germicides.

 As can be seen in Fig. single, the paper-based litter 4 according to the invention is intended to be placed at the bottom 1 of the container, over substantially the entire surface of said bottom I of the latter (see arrow A). According to an important characteristic of the invention, the moistened paper pellets are arranged in said container in a non-packed manner, so as to preserve the interstices existing between said paper pellets, which contribute to aerate the litter 4.

 According to a first example of preparation of a container according to the invention comprising one or more complementary supports 5 of the aforementioned type, the latter are placed beforehand on the bottom 1 of said container before placing the litter 4 there (see arrow B) .

 According to a second example of preparation of said container comprising the support (s) 5, the bottom 1 of said container is juxtaposed, with or without mixing said support (s) 5 and said litter 4.

 After filling the container I with said means serving to support the worms, the marine worms are placed in said container 1 and the latter is closed by means of the cover 2.

 Preferably, the mass of marine worms placed on the litter 4 is between 60% and 140% of the mass of said litter 4. For example, 15 to 35 g of worms will be available on a litter 4 of 25 g.

 Experience shows that the marine worms which are placed in the container according to the invention very quickly adopt a state of lethargy, characterized by a very reduced energy expenditure. It is only gradually that said worms burrow into the litter 4, infiltrating into the spaces existing between the wet paper pellets.

 It will be noted that the use of salt water for humidifying the shreds of paper is particularly well suited for the conservation of these worms, in the sense that it reproduces the conditions of salinity that they find in their natural environment.

 It will also be noted that the litter 4 has the advantage of being able to immediately absorb the water and the physiological liquids which are rejected by the marine worms during their conditioning, so that the worms never bathe in an excess of humidity, which is unhealthy for them.

 This litter 4 is permanently ventilated due, on the one hand, to said spaces existing between the paper pellets and, on the other hand, to the very structure of the container which allows good diffusion of air through the cover 2 and the bottom I Generally, this diffusion is obtained by the space which necessarily exists between the cover 1 and the bottom 2. But, if this is not sufficient, it is possible to provide ventilation holes on the upper face of the cover 2, as shown by holes 3 in Fig.uniquc.

 I, an aerated structure makes it possible in particular to continuously discharge the excess moisture contained in the litter 4 and possibly in the complementary support (s) 5, said excess resulting from the liquid discharges of the worms.

 Thus, the container comprising the litter 4 according to the invention is such that on the one hand, it absorbs the excess moisture constituted by the liquid excrement of the worms and that, on the other hand, it discharges part of said excess by through the airy structure that characterizes it.

 Consequently, the litter 4 according to the invention contributes to playing a role regulating the ambient humidity for the worms.

 It will be noted that the quantity of moisture evacuated by the container according to the invention is also a function of the structural characteristics of said container, such as the material which is used for the cover 2, for example.

 As an indication, the cover 2 will absorb in a particularly satisfactory manner the internal humidity in the container to evacuate it by evaporation outside, if it is made of a material such as cardboard, for example.

 It will also be noted that the litter 4 makes it possible to minimize the exposure of the worms to their own liquid droppings which it permanently absorbs, which droppings have a toxic character for the own organism of said marine worms.

 Due to the particular metabolism of marine worms belonging to the aforementioned species, any additional support 5 which is liable to decompose rapidly at the bottom of said container could be detrimental to the health of said worms.

Consequently, complementary supports 5 are used for these species of marine worms which are relatively stable over time. This excludes any perishable food which, not only would not be consumed by said worms since they do not feed in captivity, but also, would be harmful to them by polluting the litter 4.

 We will now describe an example of preparation of a container provided with a litter 4 according to the invention.

 A rigid rectangular box consisting of a base 1 of expanded polystyrene and a cover 2 of cardboard is used as container. The internal dimensions of said bottom 1 are 95 x 68 x 22 mm.

 Litter 4 is made up of red-colored paper pellets which were obtained according to the above-mentioned method from strips of paper colored red and moistened with sea water.

 It will be noted that the red paper goes well with the green color of the worms of the species which are mentioned above in the preamble to the description.

 More precisely, said third step of said method consisting in draining and pressing said moistened and colored flaps was carried out by means of a filter press, so that the mass content of residual moisture at the press outlet is 60%. In this exemplary embodiment, the mass of the litter 4 finally obtained was 25 g, including 10 g of dry matter and 15 g of sea water.

 25 g of marine worms belonging to one of the aforementioned types were then placed on the litter 4, the mass of conditioned worms being provided so that the pellets constituting said litter 4 are not saturated by the liquids discharged by said worms.

 It is observed that these marine worms tend to remain substantially immobile on the upper surface of the litter 4 during the first days of their conditioning. This immobility of the worms is even more accentuated when the container is kept at low temperature.

 This initial state of the worms makes it possible to view them in full on the litter 4, which is particularly advantageous from the point of view of the presentation of the worms for the consumer.

 In addition, the association of a red litter 4 with marine worms of the species Perliiereis Aihuhiietisis for example, which are green, further improves the presentation of said worms by bringing them out in a satisfactory manner on said litter 4.

 After a few days of almost immobility, we observe that some of the marine worms gradually burrow into the litter 4 through the spaces between the pellets, so that they are in an environment with similarities to their natural environment.

 According to an essential advantage of the invention, there is a significant increase in the shelf life of said sea worms packaged in this container. Indeed, this duration is appreciably between seven and thirty days, while the corresponding average duration for known containers varies between only three and ten days (in particular with the most commonly used support, that is to say sea grasses eelgrass type).

 According to another advantage of the invention, the paper balls constituting the litter 4 do not stick to the fingers when they are handled, hence a certain comfort of use for the consumer.

 Furthermore, the rigid or semi-rigid box-like structure of the containers according to the invention gives them the following advantages.

 Said containers can be stacked easily during their storage or during their transport, including inside the same packaging.

 In addition, the internal space of each container belonging to a stack is not reduced by the contact of the two containers which are adjacent to it, which excludes any risk of compression of the moistened paper pellets constituting the litter 4, and therefore d crushing of the worms which infiltrated there. In the same way, this box-type structure makes it possible to avoid any deformation of the container during its handling and therefore any harmful consequence for the worms.

 The stability of the content of the containers according to the invention which are stored, transported or taken in hand is thus guaranteed.

 Additionally, access for the consumer to one or more worms packaged in said container is facilitated, due to its box shape. Indeed, experience has shown that worms are easier to grasp in isolation in a box-type container than in a bag-type container.

 Furthermore, the box-type structure for said container allows the consumer to close the latter between two successive withdrawals, so that no worm can escape from it in this period of time.

 In addition, the box shape of the container according to the invention facilitates the placing of commercial labels and / or decorative supports on its external surface.

 It will also be noted that the paper used for preparing the litter 4 is a widely available and economical material. it is also a light material and can be used in different colors and different shapes, depending on the desired presentation inside the container.

 In addition, this material gives the container and its contents a hygienic and clean appearance.

Claims (9)

 I) Process for preparing a container for the packaging of live marine worms, said marine worms belonging in particular to the species Perislereix Aiblhiteslsis, Peritiereis Niititia, Perliiereis (ultrifera, Nereis L) iver.sivol and Marphy.sa Sanguinea, of the type consisting in dispose in the bottom (1) of a container of paper which has been shredded into shreds and soaked in water so as to soak and soften it, characterized in that it also consists, before placing said shreds of paper moistened in the bottom (l) of said container, to compress all of said moistened flaps in order to transform it into dense agglomerates and to partially dehumidify said flaps so that they are not saturated with water, then to crumble said said agglomerates so as to obtain compact pellets (4) of different sizes, and in that it consists in placing said pellets (4) in the bottom (l) of said container of u in an airy manner and in a regular layer corresponding to the entire surface of said bottom (1).  2) A method of preparing a container according to claim 1, characterized in that it consists in recycling part of said shreds soaked in water in a crusher intended to operate in a humid environment, so as to further reduce the dimensions of said shreds humidified.  3) A method of preparing a container according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it consists in using salt water for soaking said shreds of shredded paper.  4) A method of preparing a container according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it also consists in placing in the bottom (1) of the container one or more complementary supports (5) available in nature and do not not break down quickly naturally.  5) A method of preparing a container according to claim 4, characterized in that it consists in placing the complementary support or supports (5) on the bottom (l) of said container, then in disposing said pellets (4) of paper on said one or more supports (5).  6) A method of preparing a container according to claim 4, characterized in that it consists in mixing with said pellets the complementary support or supports (5), then in placing the mixture obtained in the bottom (1) of said container.  7) Method for preparing a container according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it also consists in introducing inside said container a chemical or biochemical aid for preservation and / or presentation .  8) A method of preparing a container according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it consists in using for said container a box provided with a cover (2).  9) A method of preparing a container according to claim 8, characterized in that said cover (2) has ventilation openings (3).