Food packaging film and treatment of foodstuffs packaged or encased therein
AssigneeViskase Companies, Inc.
InventorsMyron D. Nicholson, Dmytro Shoshyn
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a multilayer film, especially to a multilayer thermoplastic film, which may be used for food packaging, wherein the multilayer film according to the present invention may be provided, on its inner side, with a food additive, particularly with a flavoring and/or coloring and/or an aroma producing food additive (such as e.g. a liquid smoke), which food additive is then released and transferred onto the surface of a foodstuff encased in the multilayer film during cooking and/or processing of the foodstuff.
Claims25
A method for releasing or transferring at least one food additive onto a foodstuff surface and for providing a foodstuff surface with at least one food additive, wherein the method comprises the following sequential method steps:
- (a) impregnating a multilayer film, on its inner side or on the side of an inner layer composite, with at least one food additive;
- (b) encasing a foodstuff to be treated in the multilayer film thus provided, including bringing the foodstuff to be treated in direct contact with the inner layer or with the inner layer composite of the multilayer film;
- (c) releasing and transferring the at least one food additive onto a surface of the foodstuff encased in the multilayer film during cooking or processing;
- wherein the multilayer film comprises at least three polymeric layers or layer composites:
- (A) an inner layer composite, which inner layer composite is an inner food contacting layer composite, wherein the inner layer composite comprises a plurality of single inner layers attached or adhered to one another,
- wherein the single inner layers are each composed of at least one foamed polymer comprising at least one polyolefin and wherein the single inner layers each comprise a multitude of voids selected among open cells and pores and being capable of reversibly retaining or absorbing at least one food additive;
- (B) an outer layer composite, wherein the outer layer composite comprises a plurality of single outer layers attached or adhered to one another, wherein the single outer layers each comprise at least one polyamide;
- (C) an adhesive layer in the form of a tie layer disposed between the inner layer composite and the outer layer composite and adhered to the inner layer composite and the outer layer composite;
- wherein the layers or layer composites of the multilayer film are adhered or attached to one another by coextrusion:
- and wherein the multilayer film has a relative weight-based loadability or absorption capacity with respect to the at least one food additive, based on the overall dry weight of the multilayer film, in the range of from 10 wt. % to 150 wt. %.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.