Egg carton
An egg carton (also known as an egg box in British English) is a carton designed for carrying and transporting whole eggs.[1]
Description
These cartons have a dimpled form in which each dimple accommodates an individual egg and isolates that egg from eggs in adjacent dimples. This structure helps protect eggs against stresses exerted during transportation and storage by absorbing a lot of shock and limiting the incidents of fracture to the fragile egg shells.[2][3] An egg carton can be made of various materials, including foamed plastics such as polystyrene foam, clear plastic or may be manufactured from recycled paper and molded pulp by means of a mechanized papier-mâché process.[1]
Origins
Before its invention, eggs were carried in egg baskets.[1] In 1906, Thomas Peter Bethell of Liverpool invented a predecessor to the modern egg box and marketed it as the Raylite Egg Box. He created frames of interlocking strips of cardboard, and packed these frames in cardboard or wooden boxes for transport by road or rail.[4]
In 1911, newspaper editor Joseph Coyle of Smithers, British Columbia, invented the egg carton, to solve a dispute between a local farmer, Gabriel LaCroix,[5] and hotel owner in Aldermere, near present-day Telkwa, in British Columbia,[6] over the farmer's eggs often being delivered broken.
In 1921, Morris Koppelman patented an improved version of the egg carton made from cut, folded and glued cardboard and functions similar to today's egg cartons. The patent emphasized the ability for it to fold flat after use, which is a feature no longer considered important.[7]
In 1931, American Francis H Sherman of Palmer, Massachusetts, patented an egg carton formed with pressed paper pulp that is recognizable as the modern egg carton used today.[8]
In the 1950s, British designer H.G Bennett, working for manufacturing company Hartmann, adapted the egg tray design to include a sealable lid, to allow for easy stacking and transportation of 6 or 12 eggs. These are the egg boxes still seen in supermarkets today.
In 1969, the United Industrial Syndicate (UIS) in Maine (a division of The Portland Company) patented an egg carton appears similar to Sherman's pressed paper pulp carton but has special pedestals formed into the carton to provide support for the weight of stacks of egg cartons and other strength related features and also an improved clasping closure feature. The three inventors listed on the filing are Walter H. Howarth, Gerald A. Snow, and Harold A. Doughty.[9]
Unlike many products, trademarks and advertisements for egg brands are usually printed on the food container itself rather than on a separate container (as with breakfast cereals).[1] This single-layer, distinctive packaging distinguishes among egg cartons from different producers or levels of quality on the retail shelf.
Sizes
Standard egg cartons have room for 10 or 12 eggs, but they can come in a variety of sizes, holding from one to 30 eggs.
Trays are usually used to store fresh eggs from farms or at farmers' markets. Plastic egg trays are also used by egg processors to wash and sanitize eggs. A cardboard sleeve or additional trays are used to protect eggs when using a tray format.
References
- ^ a b c d Marsh, Calum (March 28, 2018). "Egg Week: An ode to the egg carton, an unassuming example of perfect design". National Post. Retrieved 2019-01-15.
- ^ Nethercone, C H (1974). "Egg carton tests". Poultry Science. 53 (1): 311–325. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.948.6443. doi:10.3382/ps.0530311.
- ^ Seydim, A C (1999). "Packaging Effects on Shell Egg Breakage Rates During Simulated Transportation". Poultry Science. 78 (1): 148–151. doi:10.1093/ps/78.1.148. PMID 10023763.
- ^ Bethell, Thomas Peter. "Patent GB190606248". worldwide.
- ^ "Joseph L. Coyle fonds" (PDF). Bulkley Valley Museum.
- ^ "B.C. inventor created better way to carry eggs". Globe and Mail.
- ^ Koppelman, Morris (June 23, 1925), Container for eggs or the like
- ^ Sherman, Francis (October 16, 1931), Container or package for eggs etc (Patent No 1,975,129)
- ^ A, Doughty Harold; H, Howarth Walter; A, Snow Gerald (Jul 29, 1969), Egg cartons
External links
- Hiway 16 Magazine about the invention of the egg carton at the Wayback Machine (archive index)
- Canada Patent Page
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topics
- Active packaging
- Child-resistant packaging
- Contract packager
- Edible packaging
- Modified atmosphere/modified humidity packaging
- Overpackaging
- Package delivery
- Package pilferage
- Package testing
- Package theft
- Packaging engineering
- Resealable packaging
- Reusable packaging
- Reuse of bottles
- Shelf life
- Shelf-ready packaging
- Shelf-stable
- Sustainable packaging
- Tamper-evident
- Tamper resistance
- Wrap rage
packages
- Alternative wine closure
- Banana box
- Beer bottle
- Box wine
- Case-ready meat
- Coffee bag
- Cosmetic packaging
- Currency packaging
- Disposable food packaging
- Drink can
- Egg carton
- Evidence packaging
- Field ration
- Flour sack
- Foam food container
- Food packaging
- Fuel container
- Gas cylinder
- Glass milk bottle
- Growler
- Juicebox
- Low plastic water bottle
- Luxury packaging
- Milk bag
- Optical disc packaging
- Oyster pail
- Popcorn bag
- Pharmaceutical packaging
- Plastic milk container
- Purdue Improved Crop Storage bags
- Sand bag
- Seasonal packaging
- Self-heating food packaging
- Screw cap (wine)
- Single-serve coffee container
- Toothpaste pump dispenser
- Water bottle
- Wine bottle
- Aerosol spray
- Aluminium bottle
- Aluminum can
- Ampoule
- Antistatic bag
- Bag-in-box
- Bag
- Barrel
- Biodegradable bag
- Blister pack
- Boil-in-bag
- Bottle
- Box
- Bulk box
- Cage
- Case
- Carboy
- Carton
- Chub
- Clamshell
- Corrugated box design
- Crate
- Disposable cup
- Drum
- Endcap
- Envelope
- Euro container
- Flexible intermediate bulk container
- Flexi-bag
- Folding carton
- Glass bottle
- Gunny sack
- Inhaler
- Insulated shipping container
- Intermediate bulk container
- Jar
- Jerrycan
- Jug
- Keg
- Mesh bag
- Multilayered packaging
- Multi-pack
- Packet (container)
- Padded envelope
- Pail
- Paper bag
- Paper sack
- Plastic bag
- Plastic bottle
- Retort pouch
- Salvage drum
- Sachet
- Security bag
- Shipping container
- Shipping tube
- Skin pack
- Spray bottle
- Squround
- Stand-up pouch
- Steel and tin cans
- Tetra Brik
- Thermal bag
- Tub (container)
- Tube
- Unit load
- Vial
- Wooden box
and
components
- Adhesive
- Aluminium foil
- Bail handle
- Bioplastic
- Biodegradable plastic
- BoPET
- Bubble wrap
- Bung
- Cellophane
- Closure
- Coated paper
- Coating
- Coextrusion
- Corrugated fiberboard
- Corrugated plastic
- Cushioning
- Desiccant
- Double seam
- Flip-top
- Foam peanut
- Gel pack
- Glass
- Hot-melt adhesive
- Humidity indicator card
- Kraft paper
- Label
- Lid
- Linear low-density polyethylene
- Liquid packaging board
- Living hinge
- Low-density polyethylene
- Metallised film
- Modified atmosphere
- Molded pulp
- Nonwoven fabric
- Overwrap
- Oxygen scavenger
- Package handle
- Packaging gas
- Pallet
- Paper
- Paper pallet
- Paperboard
- Plastic-coated paper
- Plastic film
- Plastic pallet
- Plastic wrap
- Polyester
- Polyethylene
- Polypropylene
- Pressure-sensitive tape
- Pump dispenser
- Screw cap
- Screw cap (wine)
- Security printing
- Security tape
- Shock detector
- Shock and vibration data logger
- Shrink wrap
- Slip sheet
- Staple (fastener)
- Strapping
- Stretch wrap
- Susceptor
- Tamper-evident band
- Tear tape
- Temperature data logger
- Time temperature indicator
- Tinplate
- Velostat
- Aseptic processing
- Authentication
- Automatic identification and data capture
- Blow fill seal
- Blow molding
- Calendering
- Canning
- Coating
- Containerization
- Converting
- Corona treatment
- Curtain coating
- Die cutting
- Die forming (plastics)
- Electronic article surveillance
- Extrusion
- Extrusion coating
- Flame treatment
- Glass production
- Graphic design
- Hazard analysis and critical control points
- Hermetic seal
- Induction sealing
- Injection moulding
- Lamination
- Laser cutting
- Molding
- Package tracking
- Papermaking
- Plastic extrusion
- Plastic welding
- Printing
- Product development
- Production control
- Quality assurance
- Radio-frequency identification
- Roll slitting
- Shearing (manufacturing)
- Thermoforming
- Track and trace
- Ultrasonic welding
- Vacuum forming
- Vacuum packaging
- Verification and validation
- Barcode printer
- Barcode reader
- Bottling line
- Calender
- Can seamer
- Cartoning machine
- Case sealer
- Check weigher
- Conveyor system
- Drum pump
- Extended core stretch wrapper
- Filler
- Heat gun
- Heat sealer
- Industrial robot
- Injection molding machine
- Label printer applicator
- Lineshaft roller conveyor
- Logistics automation
- Material-handling equipment
- Mechanical brake stretch wrapper
- Multihead weigher
- Orbital stretch wrapper
- Packaging machinery
- Pallet inverter
- Palletizer
- Rotary wheel blow molding systems
- Seed-counting machine
- Shrink tunnel
- Staple gun
- Tape dispenser
- Turntable stretch wrapper
- Vertical form fill sealing machine
post-use
- Biodegradation
- Closed-loop box reuse
- Environmental engineering
- Glass recycling
- Industrial ecology
- Life-cycle assessment
- Litter
- Packaging waste
- Paper recycling
- PET bottle recycling
- Plastic recycling
- Recycling
- Reusable packaging
- Reverse logistics
- Source reduction
- Sustainable packaging
- Waste management