JP2010095288A - Packaging container for food and method of packaging food - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a packaging container for food and a method of storing food which control the uneven heating or bumping of a content when it is microwave oven heated by allowing vertical and horizontal microwave irradiation without disturbing heating efficiency and then by irradiating the food with the microwaves from around relative to the content as evenly as possible. <P>SOLUTION: This packaging container for food satisfies the relation: S1=0.4×S2 to 0.7×S2 where S1 is the top face area of a content M stored in the container and S2 is the area of its side face when food containing a sticky or solid item is stored as the content M. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a food packaging container in which a viscous product or solid food is contained as a content, and a food packaging method for accommodating such food as a content.

In modern eating habits, microwave ovens have become indispensable and are used for cooking food in many homes. With the widespread use of such microwave ovens, in recent years, a wide variety of foods premised on heating in a microwave oven are on the market. And many such things can be heated in a microwave oven while being accommodated in a packaging container (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2006-27649 A

  By the way, when heating food with a microwave oven, especially when trying to heat foods containing viscous foods or solid foods such as baby food, porridge, gratin, curry, stew, etc., microwaves are applied to the heating object. Conventionally, it has been pointed out that there is a problem that heating cannot be uniformly performed and uneven heating is likely to occur, and the inside of the microwave oven may be soiled by bumping. Therefore, one of the inventors of the present invention previously proposed a container for a microwave oven in Patent Document 1 that can prevent uneven heating of the contents due to heating in the microwave oven, bumping, and the like.

  In the container of Patent Document 1, the upper limit of the height of the contents in the container is determined, and by blocking the irradiation of the microwave from the horizontal direction, hot spots are less likely to occur in both the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. In this way, bumping due to hot spots and the overturning phenomenon of the container are prevented.

However, if the microwave irradiation from the horizontal direction is cut off, it is considered that the heating efficiency is hindered.
For this reason, the present inventors allowed microwave irradiation from both the vertical direction and the horizontal direction without impairing the heating efficiency, and the microwave was irradiated to the contents from the surroundings as evenly as possible. In order to provide a food packaging container and a food storage method capable of suppressing heating unevenness and bumping of the contents due to heating in a microwave oven, The invention has been completed.

  The food packaging container according to the present invention is a food packaging container in which a viscous product or solid food is contained as a content, and the area of the upper surface of the content in a state accommodated in the container is S1, When the area of the side surface is S2, the contents are accommodated so as to satisfy the relationship of S1 = 0.4 × S2 to 0.7 × S2.

  Moreover, the food accommodation method according to the present invention is a method of packaging a viscous or solid food in a container as a content, and the area of the upper surface of the content accommodated in the container is S1. In this method, the contents are accommodated so as to satisfy the relationship of S1 = 0.4 × S2 to 0.7 × S2 when the area of the side surface is S2.

  According to the present invention as described above, when the contents stored in the container are heated together with the container in the microwave oven, uneven heating and bumping can be suppressed.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
Here, FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the food packaging container according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG.
In the drawing, the thickness of the container 1 is exaggerated in these drawings.

  In the illustrated example, the container 1 has a container shape including a circular bottom 2 having a raised bottom, a cylindrical body 3, and a flange 4 formed along the periphery of the container opening. Yes. The flange portion 4 is formed so as to protrude substantially horizontally from the upper end edge of the body portion 3, and the contents M accommodated in the container 1 are heat-sealed on the top surface of the flange portion 4. Is to be sealed.

The container 1 can be formed using a material that transmits microwaves (2.45 GHz microwaves that are normally used in microwave ovens) so that the contents M can be heated by the microwave oven. For example, it can be formed using a resin material such as a polystyrene resin such as polystyrene, a polyester resin such as polyethylene terephthalate, a polyolefin resin such as polypropylene, or a polyamide resin such as nylon, but is not limited thereto. The container 1 may have a single-layer structure or a multilayer structure in which the above resin materials are appropriately combined.
Further, as the intermediate layer, layers such as an oxygen absorbing layer mixed with an oxygen absorbent and a moisture absorbing layer mixed with a moisture absorbing material can be further laminated.

  Moreover, you may make it give the magnetism to the container 1 as needed. By imparting magnetism to the container 1, it is possible to adjust the irradiation amount of the microwave that is transmitted through the container 1 and is irradiated on the contents M. In order to impart magnetism to the container 1, a magnetic material such as ferrite, carbon black, magnetic powder, or metal powder is kneaded into the resin material forming the container 1, or a layer containing these magnetic substances is laminated. Good. In addition to the container 1 as a whole, the magnetism may be imparted selectively to either the bottom 2 or the trunk 3, depending on the degree to which the microwave irradiation amount to the contents M is adjusted. Can be arbitrarily selected.

  Moreover, as the lid | cover material 5, the film material of the single layer or multilayer structure which has the heat seal property which can be utilized for this kind of container can be used. Usually, the lid 5 is removed from the container 1 when the contents M are heated in a microwave oven. Therefore, the material used for the lid 5 may have a property of blocking microwaves.

  The contents M contained in the container 1 are viscous foods such as baby food, porridge, gratin, curry, stew, or solid foods, and are eaten after being heated by heating with a microwave oven. Things can be illustrated.

In accommodating the contents M as described above in the container, in this embodiment, when the area of the upper surface of the contents M in the state accommodated in the container is S1, and the area of the side surface is S2. In addition, the relationship of S1 = 0.4 × S2 to 0.7 × S2 is satisfied.
Here, the state accommodated in the container refers to a state after the container 1 in which the contents M are accommodated is left on a horizontal plane and left to the extent that the flow of the contents cannot be confirmed.

  In addition, the area of the cross section of the contents M in the state of being accommodated in the container, that is, the area of the cross section perpendicular to the vertical direction when the container 1 is placed on a horizontal plane does not change significantly along the vertical direction. Thus, it is preferable that the area S1 is approximately equal to the area S1. For this purpose, the angle of the side surface of the body 3 with respect to the vertical direction is preferably 0 to 10 °, particularly preferably 0 °.

  By storing the contents M in the container so as to satisfy the relationship as described above, when the contents M stored in the container 1 are heated together with the container 1 in a microwave oven, both the vertical direction and the horizontal direction are used. The microwave irradiation of the contents M is allowed to be evenly applied from the surroundings as much as possible, while allowing the microwave irradiation of the contents M to be prevented.

  This is because the contents M contained in the container do not have a thin layer in any of the vertical and horizontal directions, and the heat capacity is large even if hot spots occur, so that uneven heating is difficult and bumping or the like occurs. This is thought to be less likely to occur.

  Further, when the contents M are accommodated in the container so as to satisfy the relationship as described above, the height H of the contents M in the state accommodated in the container is set to 16 to 50 mm. preferable. If the height of the contents M in the state of being accommodated in the container is less than 16 mm, a thin layer of the contents M is likely to be formed in the vertical direction. This is not preferable because bumping may occur at the spot. If the inner volume of the contents M is relatively small (in particular, the inner volume of the contents M is set to 40 to 150 g), the diameter of the contents M becomes smaller. This is not preferable because a thin layer of the object M is easily formed in the horizontal direction.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the internal volume of the content M is 40-150g. If the content volume of the contents M is less than 40 g, the heat capacity of the contents M as a whole tends to be small, which tends to make it difficult to suppress uneven heating and bumping phenomenon. Moreover, since the thin layer of the content M will become difficult to be formed only by it when the internal capacity increases beyond 150 g, the effect of the present invention is diminished. In other words, the present invention is particularly suitable when accommodating a relatively small amount of contents M having an internal capacity not exceeding 150 g.

In addition, a mounting table is usually provided in the cabinet of the microwave oven, and there is a case where the electric field due to the microwave is increased in the vicinity of the mounting table in the store.
In such a case, when the container 1 is mounted on the mounting table in the warehouse and the contents M are heated, the heating unevenness occurs on the bottom side of the contents M due to the influence. In order to avoid such influence, in the illustrated example, the bottom 2 of the container 1 is raised and formed in a bottom shape, and the distance from the grounding surface of the container 1 to the bottom surface of the contents M accommodated in the container It is effective to raise the bottom so that h is 10 mm or more.
In addition, since it is meaningless even if it raises more than necessary, the upper limit of the said distance h is about 25 mm.

  Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to specific examples.

[Example 1]
60 g of viscous baby food was prepared as the contents. A cylindrical container having a diameter of 60 mm was prepared as a container for storing such contents. When the contents were put in, the height of the contents in the container was 22 mm (S1 = 2826 mm ² , S2 = 4145 mm ² , S1 = 0.68 × S2).
Next, the container in which the contents were stored was set on the turntable of the microwave oven so as to be raised by 13 mm. And the output of the microwave oven was 950W, and it heated for 30 seconds.
As a result, on average, when heated to 70 ° C. (initial temperature 25 ° C.), the maximum temperature of the contents exceeded 80 ° C., but there was no bumping.

[Example 2]
A viscous baby food 60 g as the contents was heated together with the container in a microwave oven under the same conditions as in Example 1 except that a cylindrical container having a diameter of 53 mm was used. Here, the height of the contents in the container was 27 mm (S1 = 2205 mm ² , S2 = 4493 mm ² , S1 = 0.49 × S2).
As a result, on average, when heated to 70 ° C. (initial temperature 25 ° C.), the maximum temperature of the contents was in the range of 70 ° C., among Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3 described later. The heating unevenness was the smallest and there was no bumping.

[Comparative Example 1]
A viscous baby food 60 g as the contents was heated together with the container in a microwave oven under the same conditions as in Example 1 except that a cylindrical container having a diameter of 87 mm was used. Here, the height of the contents in the container was 10 mm (S1 = 5942 mm ² , S2 = 2732 mm ² , S1 = 2.2 × S2).
As a result, on average, when heated to 70 ° C. (initial temperature 25 ° C.), the maximum temperature of the contents reached 90 ° C. or higher, and bumping occurred.

[Comparative Example 2]
Except for using a cylindrical container having a diameter of 75 mm, 60 g of viscous baby food as the contents was heated together with the container under the same conditions as in Example 1. Here, the height of the contents in the container was 14 mm (S1 = 4416 mm ² , S2 = 3297 mm ² , S1 = 1.3 × S2).
As a result, on average, when heated to 70 ° C. (initial temperature 25 ° C.), the maximum temperature of the contents became 85 ° C. or higher, and bumping occurred.

[Comparative Example 3]
Except for using a cylindrical container having a diameter of 45 mm, the viscous baby food 60 g as the contents was heated together with the container in a microwave oven under the same conditions as in Example 1. Here, the height of the contents in the container was 38 mm (S1 = 1590 mm ² , S2 = 5369 mm ² , S1 = 0.30 × S2).
As a result, on average, when heated to 70 ° C. (initial temperature 25 ° C.), the maximum temperature of the contents reached 90 ° C. or higher, and bumping occurred.

  Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention. .

  For example, in the embodiment described above, an example in which the body 3 of the container 1 is formed in a cylindrical shape has been described. In order to more effectively suppress uneven heating of the contents M, a cylindrical shape having a circular cross section in which the distance from the center of the body 3 to the side wall thereof is constant along the circumferential direction is used. However, the cross-sectional shape of the body portion 3 may be various shapes such as an elliptical shape, a square shape, and a rectangular shape in consideration of ease of use according to the contents M within a range that does not impair the effects of the present invention. Good.

In the case of the container 1 having a circular bottom portion 2 and a cylindrical body portion 3 and having an angle of the side surface of the body portion 3 with respect to the vertical direction of 0 ° as in the illustrated example, When the radius is R, the upper surface area S1 and the side surface area S2 of the contents M accommodated in the container are obtained by S1 = π × R ² and S2 = 2 × π × R × H, respectively. .

  As described above, the present invention provides a food packaging container in which viscous foods or solid foods are contained as contents, and a food packaging method for containing such foods as contents.

It is a perspective view which shows the outline of embodiment of the food packaging container which concerns on this invention. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Container 2 Bottom 3 Body 4 Flange M Contents

Claims (7)

A food packaging container in which a viscous product or solid food is contained as a content,
When the area of the upper surface of the contents contained in the container is S1 and the area of the side surface is S2, the relationship of S1 = 0.4 × S2 to 0.7 × S2 is satisfied. A food packaging container containing the contents.   The food packaging container according to claim 1, wherein the contents are accommodated such that a height of the contents accommodated in the container is 16 to 50 mm.   The food packaging container according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the content has a content of 40 to 150 g.   The food packaging container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an angle of a side surface of the container body with respect to a vertical direction is 0 to 10 °.   The food packaging according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the bottom of the container is raised and bottomed so that the distance from the container ground surface to the bottom surface of the contents in the container is 10 mm or more. container.   The food packaging container according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein magnetism is imparted to the container body and / or the container bottom. It is a method of packaging a viscous food or solid food in a container as a content,
When the area of the upper surface of the contents contained in the container is S1 and the area of the side surface is S2, the relationship of S1 = 0.4 × S2 to 0.7 × S2 is satisfied. A food packaging method characterized by containing the contents.

Images