GB2024781A

GB2024781A - Plastics container for the packing of a juicy product

Info

Publication number: GB2024781A
Application number: GB7922865A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Faerch S&J Plast AS
Current assignee: Faerch S&J Plast AS
Priority date: 1978-07-10
Filing date: 1979-07-02
Publication date: 1980-01-16
Also published as: NL7905201A; NO792280L; GB2024781B; DE2927106A1; DK145077B; NO148180B; DK309578A; FI792146A; NO148180C; SE7905947L; DK145077C

Abstract

A plastics container comprises a bottom wall 2 and side walls 1 upstanding therefrom, said container comprising a plurality of upwardly open relatively small zones surrounded by ribs 5 capable of maintaining a product packed in said container spaced from said bottom wall, and flow passages 7 allowing liquid to flow freely from any of said relatively small zones to a relatively large central zone containing a layer of liquid absorbing material 8. The small zones are defined by ribs 5, 6 interrupted by the passages 7, and further ribs 9, 10 reinforce the side walls 1. The layer 8, preferably of cellulose fibres, may be covered by a rigid plate, the liquid from the passages 7 being absorbed through the edges of the layer 8. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Plastics container for the packing of a juicy product This invention relates to a plastics container for the packing of a juicy product (one capable of releasing liquid), said container comprising a bottom wall, side walls upstanding therefrom, and a plurality of upwardly open relatively small zones surrounded by ribs extending upwardly from said bottom wall to a sufficient height to form a space between the bottom wall and the underside of a product packed in the container.

Plastics containers of the above mentioned type find widespread use for the packing of meat products and particularly slices of meat which are to be displaced in cooled condition in open refrigerators in shops.

When slices of meat are to be packed in such containers, they are placed on the ribs and both the container and the slices of meat are wrapped in a film, preferably a plastics film. The packing is then closed, preferably by heat sealing.

If the slices of meat have been cut out from a larger piece of meat at a temperature of 6"C or below and they are subsequently stored at such a low temperature, the exudation of meat juice is minimal.

However in practice it is difficult to prevent that the temperature is increased to a temperature of above 6"C during the handling and packing of meat.

Therefore, up to now the consumers have had to accept that meat juice is present at the bottom of the containers described.

Furthermore, even if meat products which have been cut out, packed and stored at temperatures of 6"C or below, the temperature ordinarily will rise to about 6"C during the transport of such products from the shops to the consumers' homes.

Apart from the fact that the presence of meat juice produces an unpleasant appearance of the packed meat products, the juice deteriorates the heat sealing so that meat juice may leak from the packed products.

The present invention provides a plastics contain erforthe packing of a product capable of releasing liquid which container comprises a bottom wall, sides wall upstanding therefrom and a plurality of upwardly open zones bounded by projections extending upwardly from said bottom wall to a sufficient height to form a space between the bottom wall and the underside of a product packed in the container, wherein the container bottom wall com prises an inner zone containing a layer of a liquid absorbing material and passages allowing liquid to flow freely from each small zone to the said inner zone.

Preferably, the said zones surrounded by projections are relatively small and the said inner zone is relatively large and is central in the container bottom.

Preferably, the said projections bounding the zones are ribs surrounding the said zones.

Due to the presence of said central zone contain ing a layer of a liquid absorbing material and the passages allowing liquid to flow freely from any zone to said central zone in the space between the bottom wall of the container and the underside of the packed product, juice exuded by the packed product is quickly absorbed by the liquid absorbing material in which it is retained, because the liquid absorbing material is prevented from being compressed due to the presence of the ribs which maintain the packed product raised above the bottom wall and the layer of liquid absorbing material.

Since the liquid absorbing material does not contact the packed product, it does not adhere thereto when the product is ultimately removed from the container. Thus, a food product, e.g. slices of meat, is ready for cooking as soon as it has been removed from the container.

Foamed plastics containers comprising a bottom wall provided with depressions and a piece of liquid absorbing sheet material glued to said bottom wall are well known. However, juicy products packed in such containers are in direct contact with the liquid absorbing material. Thus, the juice absorbed therein may be removed again by squeezing and portions of the sheet material may adhere to the product when it is removed from the container.

In order to prevent the packed product accidentally contacting the layer of liquid absorbing material and adhering thereto, the upper surface of the liquid absorbing material of the plastics container of the invention is preferably covered by a liquid impervious material. The liquid impervious material is preferably made of a plastics material.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the liquid impervious material is a plastics film laminated with the layer of liquid absorbing material.

By using a non-transparent liquid impervious material, e.g. a film or plate, the liquid absorbing material becomes totally hidden and the buyer is spared from seeing the unpleasant looking juice containing liquid absorbing material.

If it is desired to ensure that the liquid absorbing material does not contact the packed product even if the packing is placed upside down, the layer of liquid absorbing material is preferably covered by a rigid plate and the ribs surrounding the central zone preferably comprise means for maintaining said plate in a locked position. Alternatively, the layer of the liquid absorbing material may be glued to the bottom wall.

The liquid absorbing material is preferably made of cellulosic fibres. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the liquid absorbing material is a cellulosic fibrous layer made by a dry-forming process. Such a material has a higher absorption capacity than a similar material made by a conventional wet process.

By varying the size of the central zone, the thickness of the layer of liquid absorbing material (and, if necessary, the height of the ribs above the bottom wall) the absorption capacity can be adjusted so as to ensure that juice exuded by a given product is totally absorbed by said material.

In order to counteract bacterial growth on the liquid absorbing material containing absorbed juice, it preferably contains at least one bactericide and/or bacteriostatic compound.

In a plastics container comprising a system of mutually crossing ribs, the flow passages are preferably depressions provided in said ribs and extending from the upper edge of the ribs to the bottom wall of the container and the depressions are located in a manner so that any zone communicates with the central zone.

The invention will now be illustrated by the following detailed description of one embodiment with reference to the drawings in which Figure 1 shows a top view of a preferred embodiment of a plastics container according to the invention, Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the container illustrated in Figure 1 along the line Il-Il and Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the container illustrated in Figure 1 along the line Ill-Ill.

The rectangular container illustrated in the drawings comprises inclined side walls 1 extending upwardly from a bottom wall 2. The bottom of the container is divided into several small zones 3 and one larger central zone 4 by ribs. The transversal ribs 5 are higher than the longitudinal ribs 6 in order to impart to the container a high rigidity. The ribs 5 and 6 comprises depressions 7 extending from the upper edges of the ribs to the bottom wall. The depressions 7 are located in a manner such that each small zone 3 communicates with the central zone 4. A layer 8 of liquid absorbing material, e.g. cellulose fibres, is provided at the bottom of the container within the central zone 4. The container illustrated is particularly suitable for the packing of a juicy meat product which together with the container is to be wrapped in a plastics film, e.g. a heat shrinking film.When such a film contracts, it exerts relatively high pressures on the side walls of the container. In order to resist such pressures and to provide a particularly rigid container, reinforcing ribs 9, 10 obtained by providing inwardly extending depressions in the side walls 1 are provided at the ends of the ribs 5 and 6, respectively.

An additional reinforcement is obtained by providing the upper edges of the side walls 1 with an outwardly and downwardly extending reinforcing lip 11.

Even if the container illustrated is made from a thin plastics material, it has a considerable rigidity which is due to the special construction of the side walls 1 and the presence of mutually crossing ribs 5 and 6.

The container illustrated is preferably made by vacuum moulding.

The smooth curved zones between the ribs 5, 6 and the side walls 1 make the container resistant to tearing forces exerted thereon.

Due to the provision of the depressions 7 the liquid e.g. meat juice exuded by the product packed in the container flows along the bottom wall 2 from any small zone 3 to the central zone 4 in which it is absorbed by the liquid absorbing material.

Instead of mutually crossing ribs 5, 6 the container may comprise ribs located in any pattern dividing the container in different zones, and it may also comprise other types of flow passages than the depressions 7 illustrated. Thus, the container may comprise e.g. a system of short and long parallel ribs having interconnected flow passages at their ends.

Furthermore, the central zone may extend from one side wall to the opposite one.

As specifically described above, the invention provides a plastics container capable of retaining juice exuded from a packed product and preventing said juice from deteriorating the appearance of the product.

Claims

1. A plastics container for the packing of a product capable of releasing liquid, which container comprises a bottom wall, side walls upstanding therefrom and a plurality of upwardly open zones bounded by projections extending upwardly from said bottom wall to a sufficient height to form a space between the bottom wall and the underside of a product packed in the container, wherein the container bottom wall comprises an inner zone containing a layer of a liquid absorbing material and passages allowing liquid to flow freely from each small zone to the said innerzone.

2. A container as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the said zones surrounded by projections are relatively small and the said inner zone is relatively large and is central in the container bottom.

3. A container as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the said projection bounding the zones are ribs surrounding the said zones.

4. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the upper surface ofthe layer of liquid absorbing material is covered by a liquid impervious material.

5. A container as claimed in claim 4, wherein the layer of liquid absorbing material is laminated with a thin plastics film.

6. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the liquid absorbing material is covered by a rigid plate.

7. A container as claimed in claim 6, wherein the ribs surrounding the central zone comprise means for maintaining the rigid plate in a locked position.

8. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the liquid absorbing layer is a cellulosic fibrous layer made by a dry-forming process.

9. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the liquid absorbing layer contains at least one bactericide and/or bacteriostatic compound.

10. A container as claimed in claim 3, wherein the passages allowing liquid flow are depressions extending from the upper edge of the ribs to the bottom wall ofthe container.

11. A plastics container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

12. A package containing a product capable of releasing liquid and comprising a container as claimed in any preceding claim.