JPH03187821A - Packing method for food - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce a packing cost, to effectively utilize the advantage of stretch package wherein a contained food is well watched through a package film, and to improve a freshness holding function by a method wherein a container or a food is wrapped with a high barrier properties plastic film in which an exhaust hole is formed, shrink package is effected, and sealing is effected by means of a label. CONSTITUTION:A deaerating hole 2 is formed in the bottom of a tray 1. Further, in the case of a food having a plenty of moisture contents, it is desired that the deaerating hole formed in the tray is formed in the side of the tray. Briefly, the position of the deaerating hole formed in the tray is properly set according to a kind and the size of a food. A food 4 is then contained in the tray 1. A high barrier properties plastic film 5 is shrunk in a heat tunnel. Finally, a label 8 is mounted on the back of the tray 1 for sealing so that the exhaust hole of the high barrier properties plastic film 5 is blocked. In which case, it is desirable that a material having a low oxygen permeability is used as the label 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a method for packaging fresh foods such as meat and seafood placed in containers using plastic films.

(Prior Art) Stretch packaging has conventionally been used as a food packaging method.

Stretch packaging is a simple method that involves placing food in a container such as a tray and then wrapping it with PVC (polyvinyl chloride) film, so it is used for a wide range of foods such as fresh fish, meat, and vegetables. ing.

In addition, stretch packaging can reduce packaging costs compared to other types of packaging. Another advantage is that the food inside can be clearly seen through the stretched film.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, although conventional trench packaging is easy to perform in packaging operations, it has a drawback in that it has a poor ability to maintain the freshness of the packaged food.

The reason is that stretch packaging does not have sealing properties. Additionally, there are limitations to the films used for stretch packaging, including weak barrier properties and lack of sealing properties.

Therefore, the conventional stretch/7-chip packaging has the problem that the food contained therein is easily oxidized and contaminated with microorganisms.

The present invention eliminates the above-mentioned problems, takes advantage of the advantages of stretch packaging in that the packaging cost is low, the contained food can be clearly seen through the wrapped film, and provides a food packaging method that has a high freshness retention function. The purpose is to

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for packaging food contained in a container, including the steps of wrapping the container and the food with a high-barrier plastic film in which an exhaust hole is formed; The product includes a shrink-wrapping process and a label-sealing process.

(Function) According to the present invention, with the structure as described above, the shrink packaging and sealing with the label make the packaging look similar to stretch packaging, but the barrier properties and sealing properties are significantly improved. It is possible to improve the freshness preservation function of food products.

Here, shrink packaging is a packaging method used for the exterior packaging of natto, etc. It uses a film with small holes for ventilation, is wrapped and sealed in a packaging machine, and then shrink-formed in a heat tunnel. This is how it was done.

In the past, such shrink packaging was used exclusively for exterior packaging because the small vent holes in the film remain until the end and there is no airtightness, but in the present invention, this shrink packaging can be used in the same way as stretch packaging. and directly package the food.

Moreover, all the opened exhaust holes can be covered with a label.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a food packaging process diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

First, as shown in FIG. 1(a), a tray l as a container is supplied. A deaeration hole 2 (described later) is formed in the bottom surface of this tray I. In addition, in the case of food with a high moisture content, it is preferable to form the deaeration holes in the tray on the sides of the tray.In short, the position of the deaeration holes formed in the tray depends on the type and size of the food. It can be set as appropriate.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1(b), an oxygen absorber 3 is placed in the tray 1. In this case, gas replacement may be performed by gas flushing to achieve deoxidation. However, depending on the type of food, it is not necessary to actively deoxidize.

That is, the degree of deoxygenation can be appropriately set depending on the food to be stored.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1(c), the food 4 is placed in the tray 1.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1(d), the tray 1 is wrapped in a packaging machine using a high-barrier plastic film 5, and horizontal pillow packaging (see FIG. 6) is performed. An exhaust hole 7 is formed in the plastic film 5 at a location that will become the back surface of the tray 1. Also, the width of the top seal part 6! It is desirable to keep it to about 51, for example, in consideration of the impact on the appearance quality after shrink packaging. Needless to say, the width of the top seal portion can be increased.

Here, the reason for forming the degassing hole 2 in the tray l and the function of the degassing hole 7 will be explained. That is, as shown in FIG. 5(a), if the tray 11 does not have a degassing hole, it is necessary to release the air inside the tray 11 from around the tray 11 to the back surface. Actually, by bringing the tray edge 12 and the plastic film 13 into close contact with each other, the air inside the tray 11 is removed from the exhaust hole of the plastic film 13.
4, air remains in the tray 11 and the plastic film 13 swells.Therefore, as shown in FIG.
By forming this at several locations, air that tends to remain in the tray I can be removed. Further, as the high barrier plastic film 5, for example, a high barrier shrink film can be used. Moreover, if PP (polypropylene) is used, it can be constructed at low cost. Furthermore, considering that the tray 1 is to be completely hermetically packaged, it is desirable that this film has high barrier properties and is anti-fogging.

Next, the high-barrier plastic film 5 is shrunk in the heat tunnel, as shown in FIG. 1(e). In other words, shrink wrapping is performed.Here, it is desirable to heat the back side of the tray L and then also heat the front side.The reason is that when shrink wrapping the high barrier plastic film 5 after horizontal billow wrapping, the tray L is If the entire surface is heated all at once or the front side is heated first, the top seal part 6 will be heated to the tray l as shown in FIG. 6(a).
It is located on the top surface, which is unfavorable in terms of appearance.

Particularly in the case of a pack in which the food protrudes above the tray, it is necessary to form a top seal portion 6 on the back side of the tray 1, as shown in FIG. 6(b).

Next, as shown in Figure 1 (Cf), if the air cannot be removed completely using the heat shell link, air may be removed by pressurization.This process can be performed depending on the type of food being stored. Depending on the type of food, this step can be omitted.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 1(g), a label 8 is applied to the back surface of the tray 1 so as to close the exhaust hole of the high-barrier plastic film 5, and the tray 1 is sealed. Here, it is preferable to use a material with a low oxygen permeation rate as the label 8. For example, when a normal Yoshi label is used, the oxygen replacement rate is 98 to 99% when an oxygen scavenger is added. Incidentally, the current gas replacement billow product has an oxygen replacement rate of 96 to 97%. A
When using a laminate label such as T-evaporation, the oxygen replacement rate is 100% with the addition of an oxygen scavenger.

The above steps can be briefly summarized as a flow as shown in FIG.

That is, step (2) for feeding the tray, next step (2) for adding the oxygen absorber to the tray, step (2) for placing the food in the tray, and then step (2) for placing the food in the tray. At the same time as packaging, process the deaeration holes (step ■) and heat shrink packaging (
Step ■), remove pressurized air (Step ■), and seal by labeling (Step ■).

Figure 3 shows the shrink-wrapped form of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the rear side showing the shrink-wrapped state.

As shown in these figures, the tray 1 is shrink-wrapped with a barrier plastic film 5, and its exhaust hole 7 is closed with a label 8. Here, the top seal portion 6 is formed so as to be located on the back side.

With this structure, it is possible to completely seal the food, and by adding an oxygen absorber using a high-barrier plastic film, it is actually Food storage properties equivalent to or better than consumer packs can be obtained.

Furthermore, since the present invention is a flexible packaging, it is possible to package all types of containers or to package food itself. Furthermore, since a currently commercially available tray can be used, the color, design, etc. can be appropriately selected in addition to its shape.

In particular, it is a great advantage that the packaging form can be changed without changing the packaging device.

Further, in the above embodiments, a tray is shown as the container, but it goes without saying that various types of containers can be used.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments,
Various modifications are possible based on the spirit of the present invention, and these are not excluded from the scope of the present invention.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the following effects can be achieved.

(1) It is possible to realize a form similar to stretch through shrink packaging, improve the freshness-keeping function of foods, and moreover, it is possible to package them easily.

(2) By shrink-wrapping and closing the exhaust holes of the high-barrier plastic film with a label, the barrier and sealing properties can be significantly improved, making it suitable for sealed packaging of foods, especially perishables, and with a long shelf life. It is possible to achieve revolutionary improvements.

(3) Because it is a flexible packaging, it is possible to package all types of containers or even the food itself. In particular, it is a great advantage that the packaging form can be changed freely without changing the packaging device, and such an advantage cannot be obtained with deep drawing packaging, cup seal packaging, etc.

(4) In addition to having the original product name and source display function, the label can also have a sealing function.

(5) Since the exhaust hole opens when the label is peeled off, it can be used for packaging foods that can be placed in a microwave oven.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a food packaging process diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention;
The figure is a schematic flowchart of the packaging, and Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the shrink packaging state of the present invention (food is not shown).
FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view showing the shrink-wrapped state, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the air-released state, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the heat-shrink wrapped state. l...Tray (container), 2...Deaeration hole, 3...Oxygen absorber, 4...Food, 5...High barrier plastic film, 6...Top seal part, 7...・Exhaust hole, 8...Label. Figure 1

Claims (10)

[Claims] (1) In a method of packaging food contained in a container, (a)
A method for packaging food, comprising: wrapping a container and food with a high-barrier plastic film in which exhaust holes are formed; (b) shrink-wrapping; and (c) sealing with a label. . (2) The food packaging method according to claim 1, wherein the container is provided with a deaeration hole. (3) The food packaging method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of pasting a label over the exhaust hole to close the exhaust hole. (4) The food packaging method according to claim 3, wherein the label has high barrier properties. (5) The food packaging method according to claim 1, wherein the plastic film has antifogging properties. (6) The food packaging method according to claim 1, further comprising forming an exhaust hole in the plastic film in the container. (7) The food packaging method according to claim 1, characterized in that an oxygen absorber is added together with the food. (8) The food packaging method according to claim 1, characterized in that the inside of the container is flushed with gas. (9) The food packaging method according to claim 1, wherein in the shrink packaging, the back side of the container is heated first. (10) The food packaging method according to claim 1, wherein pressurized deaeration is performed after the shrink packaging.