Chiquita Brands, Inc.

Daniel Mullock

Raul Fernandez

Franklin Sanabria

Francisco Rodriguez

Rodrigo Barsallo

Gustavo Raudalus

Elmer Howell

Salomon Chong

John Knight

Randall Petersen

Paul Baker

A container system for the shipping and storing of product such as bananas, comprising: (a) a substantially rigid outer container having at least one ventilation opening; (b) a closable inner container positioned within the outer container receiving the product, the inner container having a bottom portion and a top portion; and (c) means attached to the top portion of the inner container for opening the inner container so as to provide increased ventilation to the product. The inner container preferably comprises a flexible bag having a sealed bottom as its bottom portion, an open top adjacent the top portion, and a perforation extending about at least a portion of the bag, so that the opening means opens the bag by severing the bag at the perforation. The opening means may comprise a cord attached to the top portion of the bag. A method of packing, shipping and storing product utilizing this container is provided. A method of ventilating and storing a plurality of stacked boxes using this container system is provided. A method of producing a container of banana clusters is also provided, wherein the banana clusters are placed into a container in a four row pattern with the two upper-most rows in a crowns-up configuration. Various cushioning pads for this packing pattern are also provided.

Method for packaging, storing and ventilating produce

A unitized, stable stacking system with a tier sheet stabilizer is provided, along with a method for stacking containers. The tier sheet includes a substantially planar top surface, a bottom surface, peripheral retainers disposed about and extending away from the top and bottom surfaces, respectively, and a plurality of protuberances extending downwardly away form the bottom surface such that said protuberances engage the sidewalls of each container to secure the tier sheet to the containers positioned below the tier sheet. The protuberances are positioned so that the tier sheet can be utilized with several different container layering patterns.

Unitized, stable stacking system with tier sheet stabilizer, and method

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Cincinnati, OH, United States of America

Daniel Mullock