Method of packaging lettuce for storing and shipping

A method of packaging lettuce for storing and shipping lettuce in bulk quantities of at least several hundred pounds for long distance transport and reducing the deterioration and discoloration which usually arises during storage and shipping of the lettuce in bulk quantities, said method comprising:

• a) fitting an upwardly struck flange of a polygonal shaped paperboard bottom closure on a lower end of a rigid polygonal paperboard construction side wall of a shipping and storage tubular container with a friction fit therebetween and without securement with mechanical fasteners so that the bottom end of the container is closed by said closure, said side wall having at least six sides connected to one another to form a continuous side wall, said bottom closure having substantially the same size and shape as the transverse cross section of the container, said container thereby forming an inner compartment;
• b) inserting an inner flexible and foldable liner bag into outer flexible and foldable liner bag and where each have substantially the same size and shape thereby forming a pocket between inner and outer liners;
• c) inserting the pair of flexible and foldable liner bags into the rigid container compartment of said container which is sized to snugly receive the bags when filled with lettuce in bulk quantities and opening the upper end of said inner bag to provide access to an interior chamber in said inner bag;
• d) introducing fresh lettuce into said interior chamber of said inner bag to substantially fill said chamber of said inner bag with at least several hundred pounds of the fresh lettuce to a desired height therein;
• e) closing the opening in said inner bag and sealing same to form a relatively air-tight interior chamber in said inner bag;
• f) evacuating said chamber of said inner bag to substantially remove the oxygen therein;
• g) recharging the chamber of said inner bag with a gas which is relatively inert to the lettuce to provide an oxygen reduced atmosphere in said chamber;
• h) closing the opening in the outer bag and sealing same to form a relatively air-tight pocket between the inner bag and the outer bag;
• i) said steps of closing the open upper end of the inner bag and sealing same (step e) and closing the upper end of the outer bag and sealing same (step h) further comprising for each of the inner and outer bags, respectively:
• i) rolling excess material at the upper end of the bag into a roll and down onto the contents of the bag to form a top of the bag,
• ii) folding back outwardly extending transverse end sections of the roll of the bag onto the roll forming a top of the bag so that the transverse end sections are opposed to one another, and
• iii) securing the traverse end sections to the roll or the top of the bag so that there is an air tight seal to the interior of the bag;
• j) evacuating the pocket between the inner and outer bags to substantially remove all oxygen therein;
• k) recharging the pocket between the inner and outer bags with a gas which is relatively inert to the lettuce to provide an oxygen reduced atmosphere between the inner and outer bags;
• l) maintaining the chamber of the inner bag sealed and the pocket between the inner bag and the outer bag sealed with the oxygen reduced atmosphere until need for access thereto;
• and
• m) fitting a downwardly struck flange of a polygonal shaped paperboard lid on the upper end of the side wall with a frictional fit therebetween to close the top end of the container containing the lettuce filled bags containing the oxygen reduced atmosphere without securing the lid to the side wall with mechanical fasteners, said paperboard lid having substantially the same size and shape as the transverse cross section of the container.