2004 Packaging Digest: Download

HighBeam Research

Title: Reclosable, retortable pouch hits U.S. market.(news perspective)

Date: June 1, 2004 Publication: Packaging Digest

Blue Star Food Products has opted for a new reclosable, retortable pouch that will swim into stores throughout the U.S. for the first time this month. The convenient, 1-1b Zip'n Store[TM] zippered pouch was developed by Pyramid Flexible Packaging (www.pyramidglobal.com) in conjunction with Presto Products (www.prestoproducts.com) for six varieties of Blue Star's ready-to-eat, hand-picked, pasteurized crabmeat. Distribution includes national foodservice accounts, supermarket chains and clubstores nationwide. Blue Star Food Products, Miami, (a.k.a John Keeler & Co.) is labeling the packages with instructions to "keep refrigerated." John Keeler imports blue crab from Asia and distributes the crabmeat in the U.S. under the Blue Star Food Products and Oceanica brands.

Pyramid says the three-side-sealed pouch delivers all of the benefits of retort packaging with the added advantage of Presto's exclusive new Fresh-Lock[R] polypropylene retortable zipper, a heavy-duty zipper suitable for retort and other higher-temperature packaging applications. The zipper allows customers and consumers to use only the amount of product they need, which helps reduce waste and spoilage and eliminates the need for additional containers to hold the leftovers. The reclosable pouch is available from Pyramid for a variety of heat-processed products in four premade pouch formats: three-side-seal; stand-up; die-cut handle; and contoured shape.

Pyramid says that processors and foodservice providers are taking a liking to flexible pouches for their light weight, economics, source reduction and handling ease. Equally important, the retortable pouch can eliminate the metallic taste sometimes associated with metal containers. The zippered version is especially welcome. "Until now, zippers couldn't be incorporated into retort packages due to the extreme temperatures demanded by the retort process," comments Dean Hoss, president of Pyramid Flexible Packaging. "The sturdy, heat-resistant Zip'n Store package can also be used in the microwave and as a boil-in bag for cooking and reheating food products right inside the package."

The Blue Star package will have a refrigerated shelf life of at least one year from date of production. Pyramid converts the pouch material in its facility in Korea, and describes it as a polyester/foil/nylon/retort-grade cast PP (RCPP] laminate with a nominal gauge of 4.2 mils. A proprietary adhesive prevents delamination. Reverse printing of the polyester layer is by gravure in eight colors.

The crabmeat is basically pasteurized (at undisclosed temperatures) in the pouch, cooled and kept refrigerated at 35 deg F from that point on, says Steve Harmell, vp of marketing and sales for Blue Star. "Pasteurizing allows us to maintain the product in its refrigerated form for more than one year," he says. "The reclosable, zippered pouch is highly attractive to our main customers because it's so easy to use, it resists cracking and denting, and it can provide luxurious graphics. The technology that goes into this lets us capitalize on our product being closer to fresh-picked crabmeat than canned, pasteurized crabmeat. Zip'n Store's ability to take the high heat involved in the cooking and pasteurizing processes allows the crabmeat to taste much fresher."

The product is currently packaged on behalf of Blue Star in Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia via a proprietary process using equally proprietary equipment. Harmell says Blue Star has applied for a patent on its processing technology. The 1-1b reclosable zippered pouch was created as a follow-up to Blue Star's first introduction into this type of packaging material and process, he adds. The first iteration of the pouch is not resealable and is being made available in a 6-oz size for two different retail products, Harmell says, adding that the nonzippered version is currently in distribution at Wal-Mart superstores across the country. "We have several commitments already for the one-pound pouch from customers who want to test it as soon as it's available," he says. Circle No. 364.

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