Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Packaged or wrapped product – Packaged product is animal flesh
Reexamination Certificate
2001-05-09
2002-11-19
Alexander, Reginald L. (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Packaged or wrapped product
Packaged product is animal flesh
C426S124000, C206S205000, C206S204000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06482452
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a combination of a liquid-tight meat tray with inserted absorbent/separating pad.
2. Description of the Related Art
For retail packaging it is known to wrap pieces of meat placed onto a meat tray with clear plastic wrap, fresh-keeping foil or cellophane foil. Between the piece of meat and the meat tray an absorbent pad is positioned which is, for example, comprised of cellulose. The absorbent pad absorbs the liquid released by the meat. Accordingly, the meat is kept drier and the growth of bacteria is inhibited.
Since however a piece of meat generally releases liquid continuously, the inserted absorbent pad is very quickly soaked. Such a soaked pad provides a suitable growth medium for bacteria. Bacteria develop within a shortest period of time so that a piece of meat packaged in this way has a shelf life of only a few days (in general a maximum of two to three days) even when refrigerated.
The piece of meat lies within a very short period o time (already after a few hours) in its own juice and is thus exposed to the attack of bacterial from the pad.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an increased shelf life, while leaving the storage conditions unchanged, for a packaged piece of meat and to inhibit bacteria growth effectively in all respects without having to expose the piece of meat to potentially harmful substances.
This object is solved by a combination of a liquid-tight meat tray and an absorbent/separating layer inserted into the meat tray, comprised of an absorbent pad and a film arranged thereon for reducing the permeability of meat juice, which is released by gravity from a piece of meat placed onto the absorbent/separating layer, wherein the meat tray, the absorbent/separating layer, and the piece of meat are to be wrapped with a fresh-keeping foil for a common closed envelope, comprising a zone introduced into the space to be enclosed within the fresh-keeping foil with purely plant-based preservative of spice, whose microbially active volatile components are employed in a chemically unchanged form.
With the invention, the shelf life of a packaged piece of meat, in particular, pieces of fresh meat, is drastically increased. The invention resides in a combination effect of a directed, irreversible or substantially complete separation of the fresh meat from its meat juice with the generation of a microbial aura of the essential oils of the respectively used plant-based preservative(s). The invention uses for this purpose purely plant-based preservative. It has been found that certain plant-based preservatives have a strong microbial action even without this necessitating direct contact between the preservative and the meat/meat juice. Important in this context is the direct use of plant-based preservatives while avoiding a preceding distillation of the respective flavor constituents. The concentration(s) of the employed plant-based preservative (s) is/are under the regulatory declaration limit.
On the other hand, the extended shelf life is based on the separation according to the invention between the piece of meat and the juice released by the piece of meat. This separation is realized by the separating function of the absorbent/separating layer. This separation is a achieved in that the liquid flows, as a result of the storage of the piece of meat resting on the meat tray, in the direction toward the pad which is comprised of the absorbent/separating layer. Thus, the liquid penetrates the film—whose permeability in the opposite direction is bad to zero—so that the collected liquid has a tendency to remain at the bottom of the packaging, retained by the film. The film can be, for example, greaseproof paper or another material which is not very permeable for the meat juice (water). It is also possible to employ perforated film material that, outside of the perforation locations, is impermeable.
Underneath the film an absorbent pad is provided which can be comprised of cellulose/pulp fibers or an absorbent nonwoven. The absorbent pad absorbs a large portion of the liquid released by the piece of meat. For this purpose, the absorbent pad is positioned underneath the film. Accordingly, the liquid is retained within the absorbent pad; this effect is moreover enhanced when the film has a permeability that is worse in the direction toward the piece of meat than in the opposite direction.
The directional dependency of the permeability can be achieved, for example, via special perforations of the film. This will be explained later on. However, as an alternative or as a supplement, it is also Possible to coat the meat side of the perforated film to be hydrophilic and to coat the underside to be hydrophobic or to use a corresponding film packet with a permeable hydrophilic top film and a permeable hydrophobic bottom film.
The inventive effect resides also in the double function of the packaging: the meat hardly comes into contact with the liquid; on the other hand, the liquid is preserved by the zone containing the plant-based preservative, i.e., the growth of bacteria is prevented microbially. This results in a combination effect which imparts to the piece of meat overall a substantially extended shelf life.
The preservative can be enclosed in a bag with permeable and/or absorbent wall. Such a bag can be separately manufactured (for example, like a tea bag) and can be inserted into the packaging. The preservative however can also be introduced between film and pad.
By arranging the plant-based preservative between the film and the absorbent pad, the preservative is then penetrated by the liquid released from the piece of meat. Accordingly, already by the release and downward flow of the liquid, the microbially active components of the plant-based preservative are washed out and are entrained into the absorbent pad, respectively to the bottom of the meat tray. This ensures at all times a certain minimum concentration of the active components of the preservative in the liquid at the bottom of the meat tray. Accordingly, the composition and quantity of the preservative, taking into account the resulting minimum concentration and the concentration gradient, can be adjusted such that a sufficient preservative action is provided at al times from the beginning.
The absorbent pad can also be in direct contact with the zone containing the plant-based preservatives. This ensures a constant exchange between the liquid and the preservative. This provides an improved shelf life in comparison to conventional packaging, even when the absorbent pad is completely soaked; the shelf life is further increased in that more of the active ingredients are extracted from the preservative in the case of complete soaking.
The effectiveness of the preservative depends o the surface area; this holds true, on the one hand, for the total surface area of the preservative itself, in particular, as a function of the size of the surface area per quantity unit of the preservative. This is a material constant of the employed preservative; it depends on the fineness, the grain size, the roughness, and the shape of the preservative which is generally a solid material. This will be discussed later on.
On the other hand, the surface area is increased in that the plant-based preservative is distributed over the entire surface area between the film and the absorbent pad.
It is preferred that the zone containing the preservative extends over the entire large surface areas, facing one another, of the film and of he absorbent pad. Accordingly, practically the entire bottom of the meat tray is lined by means of the film, the preservative, and the absorbent pad.
The preservative is preferably positioned only between the film and the pad and underneath the piece of meat. The other locations then do not contain any preservative. The meat itself thus does not, or practically not, come into contact with the preservative.
The purely plant-based preservative can be easily introduced into the market and easily s
von Eckern Ralf
Weller Frank
Alexander Reginald L.
Huckett Gudrun E.
Innovative FreshPacking Holding B.V.
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