WO2000063082A1

WO2000063082A1 - Fresh food container

Info

Publication number: WO2000063082A1
Application number: PCT/AU2000/000277
Authority: WO
Inventors: Paul Smart; David Flynn
Original assignee: Food & Packaging Centre Management Limited
Priority date: 1999-04-16
Filing date: 2000-04-04
Publication date: 2000-10-26

Abstract

A bag and tray combination for chilled foodstuffs such as fish. The chilled fresh fish tray (12) consists of a series of parallel compartments (24) shaped to support the fish in the swim position so that the head of one fish is adjacent the tail of fish in the adjacent compartments. Projections (27) are provided in the head portions (25) of each compartment to project into the gill openings of the fish to restrain movement during transportation. Drainage holes (28) are provided to prevent accumulation of fluids about the fish. Coolant is placed on the top of the tray and the araangement provides better coolant contact with the fish. The tray is used with a product bag (3) composed of a laminate of a heat sealable polymer (8) with a metallised (10) polymer (9) film. The heat sealable film forms the internal surface of the package. The film is formed into a rectangular container with a base and sidewalls the corners being heat sealed together to form a self supporting open topped container. The edges of the open top can be brought together and heat sealed to close the container.

Description

FRESH FOOD CONTAINER

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to the packaging of fresh foodstuffs for transportation in insulated containers to minimise heat gain to the contents. It is particularly concerned with the transport of foodstuffs cooled with ice.

Background to the invention

There is a trend toward consumers preferring to buy fresh unprocessed food. Difficulty is encountered when the transportation times from the point of harvest to the final retail outlet are more than a day and where transportation involves a number of loading and unloading steps. This degree of handling and can lead to delays and if the temperature of the product varies as well the quality of the product will deteriorate more rapidly.

Freezing of foodstuffs aids in long term preservation and transportation but does cause a loss of flavour. The optimum transportation method is to use refrigerated transport and ensure that the products are maintained at a temperature below 4 ° C. Often ice is included with the fresh produce to achieve this temperature. To prevent heat gain insulated containers are generally employed. These containers usually need to meet a range of parameters such as cost, robustness, minimal wall thickness, to minimize storage space loss, and low weight. WO 98/31608 discloses a flexible bag with an outer metallic reflective surface disposed in a box having baffles on the internal walls to maintain an airspace between the reflective surface and the outer box walls.

Flexible insulating containers such as bags have previously been proposed. USA patent 4211267 discloses an insulating and shock absorbing bag formed of a laminate including a foam layer, a foil layer, polyethylene layer and optionally a cotton layer. GB patent 2085401 discloses a double wall bag having air or gas in the wall cavity and a foil layer in the outer wall.

Another consideration is the presentation of the produce when it reaches market. In most of the prior art packages not all the produce is visible to buyers without handling or moving the upper most layer. Also the weight of the upper layers can cause damage to the lower layers. Movement of the produce during transportation can also cause deterioration of the visual appeal and quality of the produce.

All of these proposals address some of the requirements but many fail because of cost considerations.

It is an object of this invention to provide an insulated container that has good insulation performance without taking up excessive volume, weighing too much in comparison to its contents and is less expensive.

Brief Description of the invention To this end the present invention provides an insulated package combination which includes a product container made from a flexible film laminate having a reflective outer surface, and a heat sealable inner surface said container prior to being filled having a base, gussetted side walls and an open top so that a tray, product and coolant can be placed into the open container. By providing a heat sealable inner surface the open top can be sealed by bringing the side-walls together so that the internal surfaces are in contact and able to be heat sealed. An advantage of this invention is that the laminate material because of the reflective layer is relatively self supporting and when formed into a shape having a base, side walls and an open top is easily filled without the need to hold the bag open. The walls may be gussetted at the corners and the gussets also contribute to the self support of the container.

In another aspect the present invention provides a method of transporting chilled food stuffs comprising the steps of a) placing the chilled product into a product container having a base and upright sidewalls said container formed from a flexible laminate having an outer reflective surface and an inner sealable surface. b) placing said product container into a transport container and optionally closing the container by sealing together the internal surfaces around the container opening c) placing sufficient coolant in the product container to maintain the product in a chilled state d) transporting the filled transport container to its destination before all the coolant has undergone a phase transition [e.g. - melted]. The produce which most benefits from the present invention are pharmaceuticals and higher value fresh foods, which are subjected to extended travel and storage, all seafoods including lobsters, crayfish, oysters, fish such as salmon, fresh cut flowers, fresh herbs, vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, spinach, carrots, brussel-sprouts and fruits that benefit from chilled storage and transportation including tomatoes, stone fruits, melons, grapes, mangoes, strawberries, pears, bananas and kiwifruit.

The product container is conveniently an insulated package combination which includes a product container made from a flexible film laminate having a reflective outer surface, and a heat sealable inner surface said container prior to being filled having a base, gussetted side walls and an open top so that a tray, product and coolant can be placed into the open container.

. Conveniently the product container is a foil coated bag made from a foil laminate such as reflective aluminium/polyethylene. An alternative to a foil/film laminate is metallised polymeric film suitable for packaging such as metallised polyethylene, polyester, or polypropylene. Where the polymer in the metallised film is not itself heat sealable it may be laminated to a heat sealable film. A preferred material for the product container is a metallised bi-axially oriented polypropylene [BOPP] film laminated to a polyethylene [PE] film where the PE film forms the internal surface of the container. Low density polyethylene is a preferred inner layer. The thickness of the laminate is chosen to match the intended use of the bag. For packaging fish good puncture and tear resistance is needed. A thickness between 30 and 100 microns is generally sufficient.

Inside the product container there may be a product tray or other ancillary packaging materials appropriate for the particular product. The product container may be vacuum evacuated and heat sealed. In a further aspect the present invention provides an insulated package combination for fresh food products which includes a product container made from a flexible film laminate having a reflective outer surface, and optionally a heat sealable inner surface said container being sized to accommodate a tray, product and coolant, wherein the tray is formed into compartments to hold individual products each compartment being deeper than it is wide and adapted to conform to the shape of the product and including means to grip the product to prevent its movement during transportation.

The preferred food product is fish particularly salmon or trout which are sold as fresh gutted whole fish.

In a further aspect of this invention there is provided a fish tray having a) a series of parallel compartments b) each compartment shaped to adapt to the body of a fish in the swim position c) the head portion of each compartment being adjacent the tail portion of the adjoining compartment d) projections being provided in the head portion of each compartment to project into the gill openings of the fish and restrain it from movement e) optional drainage outlets being provided in the base of each compartment The tray has parallel compartments so that the head of one fish lies next to the tail of the adjoining fish or fishes. The fish are supported in the swim position with the gut slit facing down to allow for drainage of fluids. The tray preferably includes a drainage outlet or outlets in the bottom of each compartment. Adjacent the gill of the fish each compartment includes a pair of opposed indents which project into the gill openings of the fish and restrict its movement.

This tray provides the following advantages compared to prior art packages:

• Each fish is individually displayed in the aesthetically pleasing swim position

• The fish are restrained from movement

• The fish are not lying on or beneath other fish • The coolant distribution is more even and effective in that there is less liklihood that any portion of a fish will not be adequately cooled because the coolant surface contact area is higher than in prior art packages

• The fish are better drained and the drainage holes means the tray separates the fish from the fluids.

The tray is made from any food grade mouldable plastic such as Polyethylene terphthalate [PET] and needs to be dimensioned to support up to 16 Kg of fish and 4 Kg of ice or other coolant. The container is preferably injection moulded although it may be thermoformed or vacuum formed. Coolant preferably water ice, is also included inside the product container or the transport container. The coolant must be present in sufficient quantity and at an initial temperature which ensures that it is not completely melted before the produce is ready for presentation. Preferably the coolant is present in an amount from 10% to 40% by weight of the produce. Alternative coolants to -1 to -2 °C ice are :

• low temperature freshwater/saltwater ice[-20 to -30 °C]

• Frozen aqueous glycol mixtures

• Frozen hydrated polyacrylamide gel packs such as that sold as "TECHNI-ICE"

• Dry ice [solid carbon dioxide] If the ice or coolant is in contact with the fish or other produce it is preferably at a temperature above that at which the produce itself becomes frozen to prevent undesirable tissue damage. For fish, and in particular, salmon, the ice is preferably added at a temperature of -2 to -5°C. An alternative is to store the coolant in a compartment above the produce so that much lower coolant temperatures can be used. Thus the coolant can be arranged on a support to elevate it above the produce within the product bag. For fish the melted ice flowing over the surface of the fish is a desirable flushing action particularly favoured in some countries such as Japan. For this reason the coolant is preferably stored within the product bag. Detailed Description of the Invention

A preferred embodiment of the invention designed for use with fish will now be described with reference to the drawings in which; figure 1 is a schematic view of the package of this invention; figure 2 is a perspective view of a sealed package of this invention; figure 3 is a cross-section of the laminate used to form the package of this invention; figure 4 is a plan view of the package shown containing a fish; and figure 5 is a sectional view of a filled package. Figure6 is a perspective view of a four compartment fish tray preferred for use in the product bag of this invention. figure 7 is a plan contour view of a four compartment fish tray; and figure 8 is a sectional contour line drawing of the four compartment fish tray. figure 9 is a solid perspective view of a six compartment fish tray; figure 10 is a plan contour view of a six compartment fish tray; and figure 11 is a sectional contour line drawing of the six compartment fish tray.

The product bag 3 is a PE/metallised BOPP laminate with an outer reflective surface. The bag 3 comprises a base 4, upstanding sidewalls 5 and gussetted corners 6. The gussetted corners 6 are formed by heat sealing the edges of the sidewalls 5 together.

In cross-section the laminate which forms the base and wall consists of an inner heat sealable layer 8 of polyethylene[PE] bonded to the middle layer 9 of biaxially oriented polypropylene [BOPP] which in turn is coated with a reflective metallic layer 10. The layer 10 is on the outside of the container 3. To ensure that the bag is fluid tight the corners at the junction of the walls and the base of the bag are formed so that corner flaps overlie and are heat sealed to the base of the container. The fish tray 12 of figures 1 to 5 is shown in more detail in figures 6 to 11. The moulded white P E T tray consists of an upper surface 21 upstanding edge flanges 22 and compartments 24 arranged in parallel so that the head of one fish lies adjacent the tail of the adjacent fish. The compartments have a head end 25 to support the head of the fish and a tail end 26 to support the tail end. Indents 27 are provided at the head end to protrude into the gill openings of the fish to restrain movement. The compartments are contoured to correspond to the external shape of the fish and include in their lowest surface one to three holes 28 to allow excess fluids to be drained away. As can be seen the compartments of the six compartment trays of figures 9 to 11 , designed for smaller fish, are shorter in length than the compartments of the 4 compartment trays shown in figures 6 to 8. In the corners of the top surface 21 are drainage recesses 29 designed to guide melted coolant away from the top of the tray toward the drainage outlets 28 in the base of the compartments. The trays are designed to support a combined weight of 20 Kilograms of fish and coolant. The number of compartments correspond to the number of fish needed to make up that weight. This depends on the market demand but 4, 5 and 6 compartments are the most practical tray designs. Because of packaging design restraints such as pallet size box and product bag dimensions the external dimensions of the tray remain the same and only the internal compartment sizes vary.

For transporting fish, the product bag 3 includes a drainage tray 12 and an absorbent pad 13 beneath the tray to absorb melted ice and fluids. The fish 14 is placed on the tray and a quantity of ice is placed on the fish and the bag 3 is then closed by bringing the upper edges of two opposed walls 5 together. The abutting edges of the walls 5 can be taped or stapled to form a closure 11 but preferably the wall edges abut along the inner faces 8 and are heat sealed together to form closure 11. The sealing can be carried out with the partial evacuation of the bag. The flushing action of the melted ice flowing over the surface of the fish enhances its appearance. The product bag 3 is then placed in a transport container which can simply be a corrugated cardboard or polystyrene box or a box as disclosed in WO 98/31608. From the above it can be seen that this invention provides

1. an inexpensive means of improving the presentation of fresh fish for sale and 2. an economical package for short periods of transportation and storage.

Claims

1. A method of transporting chilled fish comprising the steps of a) placing the chilled fish into a tray having parallel compartments to support the fish in the swim position and drainage outlets in the bottom of the compartments said compartments being arranged so that the head of one fish lies adjacent the tail of the adjacent fish b) placing the filled tray into product container having a base and upright sidewalls said container formed from a flexible laminate having an outer reflective surface and an inner sealable surface. c) placing sufficient coolant in the product container to maintain the product in a chilled state d) placing said product container into a transport container and optionally closing the product container by sealing together the internal surfaces around the product container opening e) transporting the filled transport container to its destination before all the coolant has undergone a phase transition.

2. A method of transporting chilled food stuffs comprising the steps of a) placing the chilled product into a product container having a base and upright sidewalls said container formed from a flexible laminate having an outer reflective surface and an inner sealable surface. b) placing said product container into a transport container and optionally closing the container by sealing the internal surfaces around the container opening together c) placing sufficient coolant in the product container to maintain the product in a chilled state d) transporting the filled transport container to its destination before all the coolant has undergone a phase transition.

3. An insulated package combination which includes a product container made from a flexible film laminate having a reflective outer surface, and a heat sealable inner surface said container prior to being filled having a base, gussetted side walls and an open top so that a tray, product and coolant can be placed into the open container.

4. An insulated package combination for fresh food products which includes a product container made from a flexible film laminate having a reflective outer surface, and optionally a heat sealable inner surface said container being sized to accommodate a tray, product and coolant, wherein the tray is formed into compartments to hold individual products each compartment being deeper than it is wide and adapted to conform to the shape of the product and including means to grip the product to prevent its movement during transportation.

5. A fish tray for use in the package of claim 4 having a) a series of parallel compartments b) each compartment shaped to adapt to the body of a fish in the swim position c) the head portion of each compartment being adjacent the tail portion of the adjoining compartment d) projections being provided in the head portion of each compartment to project into the gill openings of the fish and restrain it from movement e) optional drainage outlets being provided in the base of each compartment

6. A tray as claimed in claim 5 which includes an upstanding flange on the periphery of the trays upper surface.