Plastic, resealable elongate valve opening for a vacuum food package

Abstract

A flexible, plastic food package is provided having an elongate opening check valve with an air removal port that allows repeated opening and resealing of the package for removal of air and moisture by vacuuming. The vacuum is established by removing air through the air removal port which encloses a compressible foam material that can be repeatedly penetrated by a blunt-tip aspiration needle associated with a vacuum pump. Following closure of the check valve and inducing a vacuum, the foam material will be compressed to seal the package. The closing force of the valve is sufficient to maintain a vacuum in the package, e.g., −90 kPa at a low temperature of e.g., −60 C for a long period of time. The closing force of the valve can be overcome by hand to enable opening of the food package and access to food therein. Loss of vacuum by migration of air into the package can be reestablished by means of the aspiration needle. The compressed foam in the air removal port will seal along the entry area of the needle when it is withdrawn, and enables repeated use for long periods of time and at extremely low temperatures while still retaining the flavor and edibility of the food due a considerable reduction of ice formation on the frozen food.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]This invention relates to a new and improved flexible film food package suitable for vacuum storage of frozen fresh or cooked foods at low temperature and for an extended period of time. The food package of this invention allows repeated opening and closing to facilitate the addition and / or removal of food without significant loss of flavor or edibility.[0002]The food packaging industry includes vacuum or non-vacuum sealed food products, many of which packages are intended for use in storage at extremely low temperatures over long periods of time. Products include raw meat, poultry, fish, and other sea foods such as crustaceans, fresh vegetables, fully cooked foods such as pizza, and frozen confections such as ice cream.[0003]The problem with presently designed factory sealed food packages is two fold, the first being that ice is formed on the food content if the package is sealed without vacuum and the second being that no measures are provided to r...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]After the food package is resealed, air is removed from the package by means of a vacuum pump and an associated blunt-tip, air aspirating needle which is inserted through a bore in the compressed foam in the air removal port. The bore formed in the foam sponge is closed by compression, but enables hand insertion of the aspirating needle therethrough for repeated aspirations to remove air from the food package. The foam sponge is maintained under compression by the rigid frame. When compressed, the foam sponge functions to seal the surrounding bore area along entry and withdrawal lines of the aspirating needle, thereby enabling repeated entry and withdrawal of the aspirating needle and continuing use of the food package. Typically, the one-way check valve installed in the opening of the food package will be closed securely against the rigid valve frames due to the internal vacuum force within the package.

[0014]The resealable food storage package of this invention represents a significant improvement of frozen food storage that requires repeated open and closure for food retrieval, resealing the package, and restoring a vacuum.

Problems solved by technology

The problem with presently designed factory sealed food packages is two fold, the first being that ice is formed on the food content if the package is sealed without vacuum and the second being that no measures are provided to reseal the package for restoring the vacuum following opening of the sealed package for addition of food or for removing a portion of its content.

In both cases, when the seal is broken to allow removal and / or addition of food, the entry of air and moisture into the package frequently causes ice formation.

The result is a deterioration of the food and a reduction in flavor and edibility.

However, as noted, supra, none of the above patents provide a solution to the problem of ice formation and air and moisture contamination following opening of a food package to access the contents therein.

Also, these patents do not provide long term vacuum sealing at very low temperatures.

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