General Mills, Inc.

Donald P Messer

William E Archibald

Arne H Brauner

Jonathan W DeVries

Ellen M Silva

Henry J Landis, Ii

Samir Asmail Naghaway

A packaged food article of improved appearance and stackability comprises an unpressurized, imperforate container having an opening, wherein the container is fabricated from a material having a low gas permeability. A quantity of gas releasing food stuff, such as an active cultured dairy product, is disposed within and partially fills the container, while defining a headspace volume which is not filled with the food stuff A peelable flexible seal membrane overlays and seals the opening. An initial headspace gas is enriched with the gas released from the food stuff, with the initial headspace gas being adapted to permeate the packaging material at a rate greater than both the rate in which gas is released from the food stuff within the container and the rate in which air permeates into the container, thereby avoiding outward bowing of the flexible seal during the shelf life of the packaged food article.

Packaged food articles with enriched headspace

Packaged food articles of improved appearance and stackability are described such as a refrigerated active cultured dairy product. Each packaged food article comprises an unpressurized, imperforate container having an opening, wherein the container is fabricated from a material having a low gas permeability. A quantity of gas releasing food stuff, such as a live cultured dairy product, is disposed within and partially fills the container defining a headspace volume which is not filled with the food stuff. A peelable flexible seal membrane overlays and seals the opening. An initial headspace gas is enriched with the gas released from the food stuff, with the initial headspace gas being adapted to permeate the packaging material at a rate greater than both the rate in which gas is released from the food stuff within the container and the rate in which air permeates into the container, thereby avoiding outward bowing of the flexible seal during the shelf life of the packaged food article.

Method of preparing packaged food articles

Two portions ( ) are injection molded and ultrasonically welded together to form a plastic container (C) defining a hollow interior ( ) for containing food products and having an open top sealed by a thin, flexible, foil seal member ( ). The container (C) has an inwardly projecting lip ( ) which is arched shaped including an outer annular portion ( ) extending inward and upward from the sidewall ( ) of the container (C) away from the hollow interior ( ) of the container (C) and including an inner annular portion ( ) radially inward of the outer annular portion ( ) and having an outer face ( ) extending downward towards the hollow interior ( ) of the container (C). The upper surface of the lip ( ) is continuous, smooth and free of steps and ridges to present a continuous seal area for the foil seal member ( ) independent of the deflection of the lip ( ) into the hollow interior ( ) of the container (C).

Plastic container for food products

A two part plastic container for food products is provided having a main body and a base for being attached to the bottom of the body. The body has a frustoconical sidewall with a radial bottom rim and the base has a shorter frustoconical sidewall with a radial bottom rim. The rims are advantageous in that they allow stacks of the container bodies and bases to be processed with container feeding equipment presently in use as the rims provide distinct structure for being fed by the mechanical devices of the equipment. An energy director area is provided between the rims for ultrasonically attaching the container body and base. The container body has a smooth sidewall over substantially its entire extent without indentations or bumps for maximizing the printing area thereon. Both the container body and base minimize the size of their respective nest intervals when stacked to conserve space for shipping and processing purposes while still allowing for easy denesting with parts readily separated from the stack due to the provision of the rims. In a preferred form, the inner edges of the stacking shoulders of the bases are outwardly tapered for self-centering when stacked. The lip of the body defining the mouth of the container includes inner and outer annular portions, with the inner annular portion extending upwardly relative to the outer annular portion and terminating in a wedge shape for enhanced sealing.

A thermoformed plastic container (10) is disclosed including a sidewall (18) formed by the intersection of three portions (20, 22, 24) formed by curved planar surfaces. The bottom portion (20) is generally frustoconical in shape having cross sections corresponding to the periphery of the bottom (16) and of an increasing size linearly dependent on increased spacing from the bottom (16). The upper portion (24) is generally frustoconical in shape having oval cross sections and of a decreasing size linearly dependent on increased spacing from the flange (12). The middle portion (22) is generally frustoconical in shape having oval cross sections different from that of the bottom and upper portions (20, 24) and of an increasing size linearly dependent on increased spacing from the bottom (16). The portions (20, 22, 24) intersect at curved intersection lines (26, 32) having varying spacing from the bottom (16). The bottom portion (20) creates a chamfered edge which is larger at the longitudinal front and back of the container (10) and which is narrower at the lateral sides of the container (10). The use of curved planar surfaces in creating the sidewall (18) is advantageous in allowing computer analysis in easily and quickly fabricating prototypes for evaluation.

Growing community of inventors

Eden Prairie, MN, United States of America

Donald P Messer