Flexible disposable material for forming a food container for microwave cooking

A method of forming a flexible, disposable food container adapted to contain and maintain food in a fresh and sanitary condition, to ship the food from a factory to a warehouse to a store to a home, to display the food to the consumer in the store in a presentable fashion, to heat and brown the food when exposed to microwave energy in a microwave oven, and to serve the food to the consumer after removal from the microwave oven, the method of forming the flexible, disposable food container comprising the steps of:

• forming patches of microwave interactive material on a web of material;
• laminating the web of material to one side of a web of structural stock material to form a composite web having a material layer and a structural stock material layer so that the microwave interactive material is sandwiched between the web of material and the web of structural stock material;
• applying sealant to portions of the material layer in registry with the patches of microwave interactive material to seal ends of the composite web to form the container and to prevent the heat of the microwave interactive material from disrupting the seal during cooking in the microwave oven;
• and
• rewinding the composite web onto a roll preparatory to forming the composite web into a container and inserting food therein.

A method of forming a flexible, disposable food container adapted to contain and maintain food in a fresh and sanitary condition, to ship the food from a factory to a warehouse to a store to a home, to display the food to the consumer in the store in a presentable fashion, to heat and brown the food when exposed to microwave energy in a microwave oven and to serve the food to the consumer after removal from the microwave oven, the method of forming the flexible, disposable food container comprising the steps of:

• forming patches of microwave interactive material on a web of plastic;
• laminating the web of plastic to one side of a web of structural stock material to form a composite web having a plastic layer and a structural stock material layer so that the microwave interactive material is sandwiched between the web of plastic and the web of structural stock material;
• applying sealant to portions of the plastic layer in registry with the patches of microwave interactive material to seal ends of the composite web to form the container and to prevent the heat of the microwave interactive material from disrupting the seal during cooking in the microwave oven;
• applying printed graphics to portions of the structural stock material layer in registry with the patches of microwave interactive material and the sealant to provide a visually appealing package by properly centering the graphics without impairing the effectiveness of the microwave interactive material, without applying the graphics in difficult-to-read portions of the package, and without using a repeated, random pattern;
• rewinding the composite web onto a roll preparatory to forming the composite web into a container;
• forming the composite web into a container shape and sealing appropriate ends of the container to maintain the container shape;
• inserting the food into the container;
• sealing the container around the food;
• and
• cutting off the container from the composite web;
• wherein the container is sufficiently flexible to contain food having curved and irregular surfaces and to maximize contact of the food with the portion of the container housing the microwave interactive material;
• wherein the container is sealed so that portions of the composite web extend as finds beyond the sealed ends of the food-containing portion of the container to enable the container to be opened without destroying the container, to allow the container to be used for cooking and to permit browning while inhibiting steaming of the food, and wherein the fins are usable as handles for the opened container;
• and
• wherein the container is capable of receiving food before the food is frozen to prevent portions or parts of the food from falling out of their proper place in the food packaging process.