Foodservice retort pouch is coextruded

Award: Gold for Technical Innovation

Winner: “Flavour Mark” pouch (Cryovac)

Another new retort pouch "mushrooming" with packaging possibilities is the Cryovac Flavour Mark pouch from the Cryovac Food Packaging Division of Sealed Air (www.sealedair.com). The shelf-stable Flavour Mark pouch earned a Gold Award in Technical Innovation. It represents the first commercial foodservice application of a totally coextruded retort package.

Designed to replace the conventional #10 can, the pouch offers new options in delivering chef-quality, low-acid foods with great taste that can be prepared with little more than reheating and plating. There's no thawing, so prep time is quick, and there's no need for refrigeration, which means response time to customers can be equally quick.

An expansion of Cryovac's vertical-pouch packaging program, the nonfoil pouch technology is described as a 6-millimeter, coextruded, multilayer film structure that uses a blend of nylons designed to provide a shelf-life of nine months or more, depending on the product. The structure's unique polymer combinations along with specialized processing capabilities allow foods to be processed at retort temperatures of 121˚C for 120 min while exhibiting excellent flexural post-retort properties (vibration stress associated with shipping).

The pouch is designed to run on Cryovac's OnPack Model 2070 and 2075 vf/f/s systems. One roll of Cryovac Flavour Mark film can form enough pouches to package the equivalent of 1,600 #10 cans, yet occupies only 0.08 cubic meters of storage space.

Holding 16 to 128 ounces, depending on the application, Flavor Mark pouches are suitable for foods such as soups, cut or sliced vegetables, rice, stews, pasta dishes, beans, sauces and chili with meat. Each pouch can be easily reheated and is transparent, clearly revealing the food product inside. The package can be opened via a tear notch.