Article for storing and dispensing food

Abstract

An article of manufacture for storing and dispensing perishable foods that prolongs product life and encourages portion control by dividing bulk storage into multiple sealed compartments with each compartment having an easily removable closure that prevents exposure to the environment.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001]Not ApplicableSTATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT [0002]Not ApplicableDESCRIPTION OF THE ATTACHED APPENDIX [0003]Not ApplicableBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0004]This invention relates generally to the field of packaging food products and more specifically to an article of manufacture for storing and dispensing perishable foods in individually sealed compartments. Consumable solid food products such a dry cereal, crackers, seeds, and nuts are typically sold in sealed bulk containers where small portions are removed over a period of time. Once the seal is broken, resealing generally does not protect the product from oxidation, humidity, and insect invasion. For example, after opening a dry cereal box and pouring a bowl of cereal, customarily the paper liner is crumpled and the box top is folded closed. This closure does not prevent air and moisture from entering the box and deteriorating the cereal. This folded ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008]Another objective of the invention is to provide compartments that are easily opened.

[0009]Another objective of the invention is to provide for sealed compartments that prevent food from deteriorating due to exposure to the environment.

[0012]Still yet another objective of the invention is to improve product life by maintaining freshness of the unopened portions by sealing the product from harmful environmental elements.

[0014]In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is disclosed an article of manufacture for storing and dispensing perishable foods comprising multiple sealed compartments having the major benefits of preserving freshness and sterility of the unopened portions which results in prolonging the shelf life of a given quantity of product over currently available bulk containers where the entire contents are exposed to the environment every time a portion is dispensed.

Problems solved by technology

Once the seal is broken, resealing generally does not protect the product from oxidation, humidity, and insect invasion.

This closure does not prevent air and moisture from entering the box and deteriorating the cereal.

Similarly, once a box of crackers is opened it is generally not possible to reseal the container adequately to protect the product from deterioration and contamination.

Portion control has been a problem with bulk storage containers because the portion size is not easily determined without having access to a measuring device.

Single portion packaging of dry cereal, crackers, seeds, nuts, juices and other liquids is an option that provides for product freshness and achieves precise portion size but is accompanied by the inconvenience of having multiple individual boxes or packages to store.

In addition, individual packaging is more costly per unit volume than larger quantities of the same product.

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