Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Processes – Packaging or treatment of packaged product
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-23
2001-08-07
Bhat, Nina (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Processes
Packaging or treatment of packaged product
C426S383000, C426S410000, C426S413000, C426S418000, C383S040000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06270821
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a multipurpose marketing pouch for use in connection with the retail sale of meat and poultry. The pouch is configured to contain a cooking or roasting bag for the meat product, advertising or promotional materials, spices, seasonings, recipes, or other similar items.
BACKGROUND
Roasting Bags. The innovation of the cooking bag was a boon to the meat and poultry industry. Use of a cooking bag when roasting, for example, a whole turkey in the oven, provides significant benefits to the consumer or to an institutional chef. The cooking bag reduced the time it took to cook the turkey. The bag allowed the natural juices from the turkey to be kept for later use such as making a natural turkey gravy. Also, the cooking bag, by containing both the turkey and the juices, made clean-up much easier for the cook.
For many years processors and marketers of poultry products, such as turkey and chicken, have tried to sell a roasting bag with the poultry product itself. None of the efforts have been particularly successful.
One effort attempted to place the cooking bag inside the body cavity of the poultry. This had several drawbacks. Consumers did not know what the bag was, and often threw it away with the giblets. The bag was often covered with blood and other fluids, and could transmit naturally occurring pathogens to the kitchen counter when the bag was removed. This resulted in the potential cross-contamination of other foods.
Another effort was to make a roasting bag the bag in which the meat or poultry product was packaged. Unfortunately, consumers who were used to removing the bag before cooking the product did so before they realized they had destroyed the roasting bag. The cooking bag was undesirable for cooks who like to stuff the birds with their own stuffing. And, on occasion, the bags would be perforated during handling or shipping. This also reduced their benefits.
Another attempt was to double-bag the products, with the inner bag being a roasting bag. This was also unsatisfactory because of the difficulty in removing the outer bag without also cutting the inner bag. The double bag also prevented the stuffing of poultry.
A final attempt was to place a bag containing a roasting bag outside the bag in which the product was packaged, but underneath the netting which was placed around the product. Although this idea eliminated the problems described above, it came with its own set of difficulties. During the netting and heat shrinking process, the bag would sometimes slip away from its intended location on the product. The bag would sometimes wrinkle, making the printed information difficult to read. This packaging process was problematic and expensive, and it could not be used for products without netting.
Despite the foregoing problems, because of the popularity and convenience of roasting bags, there is a continued need for an effective and convenient method of providing a roasting bag with the retail sales of meat and poultry products.
Marketing Materials. Many manufacturers have tried to attach marketing materials to products, but attaching such materials to a frozen or refrigerated product with no flat surface has been difficult. Coupons or recipes which are enclosed in or printed directly on the packaging material are often destroyed when the packaging is removed from the product for cooking. Handling the materials can also lead to cross-contamination of other foods if not immediately sanitized.
At least one manufacturer has placed a bag containing a string turkey lifter outside the packaging bag, but underneath netting placed around the turkey product. As mentioned above, this packaging process was problematic and expensive, and it could not be used for products without netting.
There are other problems as well. It is distasteful for consumers to handle materials which are covered with blood or other natural juices from the products. Such materials are often missed by consumers because of a lack of visibility. They are often wrinkled and difficult to read.
From the foregoing, it would be a substantial advancement in the art to have an effective and convenient method of providing marketing and promotional materials with the retail sales of meat and poultry products.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a multipurpose marketing pouch configured to contain marketing material, such as roasting bags, coupons, advertizing or promotional materials, recipes, preparation or use instructions, and spice mixes. The pouch is constructed of a polymeric material which can be printed, opaque, or clear plastic. Preferably it is constructed of a clear plastic sheet. The pouch contains an interior pocket region surrounded by a sealed peripheral edge. The pocket region is sized and configured to contain the marketing material. The peripheral edge is preferably sealed with a fluid tight seal to protect the marketing material from external contamination. There are a variety of different methods of manufacturing a pouch or bag having a fluid tight seal. For instance, the fluid tight seal can be provided by polymeric material folded at one peripheral edge and bonded together at its other edges, by tubular polymeric material bonded at its ends, by separate polymeric sheets bonded together, or by use of a prefabricated polymeric bag.
In some currently preferred embodiments, an attachment mechanism facilitates attachment of the marketing pouch to a meat or poultry package. Several possible attachment mechanisms can be used within the scope of the present invention. For a non-netted product, the marketing pouch is preferably attached to the packaging clip by use of an attachment member which extends from a portion of the peripheral edge of the pouch. The attachment member must be long enough to allow it to be clipped under the packaging clip. The attachment member preferably has a length greater than one inch, and preferably in the range from one to three inches. A shorter attachment member might be usable in some applications. Longer attachment members can be used, but typically a longer attachment member contains wasted material.
For product which is netted, the pouch can be attached to the product under the netting clip in the same manner described above with the packaging clip. Alternatively, the pouch can be attached to the netting loop or handle.
It is possible to affix the pouch directly to the surface of the meat or poultry packaging by adhesive tape or glue. This embodiment is best used with products having a generally flat surface.
One embodiment of the marketing pouch can be made by obtaining a first layer of polymeric sheet material and placing marketing material on the first layer. The marketing material is then overlaid with a second layer of polymeric sheet material. The second layer of polymeric sheet material can be a separate sheet of material or it can be a portion of the first sheet material that is folded over the marketing material.
The layers of polymeric sheet material are sealed together around the marketing material to form an interior pocket region surrounded by a sealed peripheral edge. A portion of the sealed peripheral edge is enlarged, and excess material is removed to form a stem that extends from the peripheral edge a sufficient distance to permit attachment to the packing or netting clip. This stem attachment member preferably extends at least one inch from the interior pocket region, and preferably from one to three inches. The stem can be used to affix the marketing pouch to a meat or poultry package according to conventional attachment techniques. In addition, weight and price information and product logos can be optionally applied to an exterior surface of the marketing pouch.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2669047 (1954-02-01), Rieger
patent: 3540184 (1970-11-01), Ashton
patent: 3632995 (1972-01-01), Wilson
patent: 3762628 (1973-10-01), Sargent
patent: 3994089 (1976-11-01), Schwartz
patent: 4071063 (1978-01-01), Russell
patent: 4194680 (1980-03-01), Scott et al.
patent: 4492306 (1985-01-01), C
Grip Michael G.
Reed Paul F.
Bhat Nina
Madson & Metcalf
Norbest, Inc.
LandOfFree
Multipurpose marketing pouch does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Multipurpose marketing pouch, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Multipurpose marketing pouch will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2531293