Retort pouch
A retort pouch or retortable pouch is a type of food packaging made from a laminate of flexible plastic and metal foils. It allows the sterile packaging of a wide variety of food and drink handled by aseptic processing, and is used as an alternative to traditional industrial canning methods. Retort pouches are used in field rations, space food,[1] fish products,[2] camping food, instant noodles, and brands such as Capri-Sun and Tasty Bite.
Some varieties have a bottom gusset and are known as stand-up pouches.
History
The current form of the retort pouch was invented by the United States Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, Reynolds Metals Company, and Continental Flexible Packaging, who jointly received the Food Technology Industrial Achievement Award for its invention in 1978.[3]
In 1968, Otsuka Foods Company of Japan became the first company in the world to commercialize a retort food product. The product was a Japanese curry called "Bon Curry". Curry became a food that could be stored for long periods of time and, like instant noodles, could be eaten in three minutes with boiling water.[4][5] Since detailed technical information on the retort pouch, which was a military technology, was not publicly available, Otsuka Foods Company developed it in cooperation with a Group company that developed intravenous drugs using high-temperature sterilization technology.[5]
Construction
A retort pouch is constructed from a flexible metal-plastic laminate that is able to withstand the thermal processing used for sterilization. The food is first prepared, either raw or cooked, and then sealed into the retort pouch. The pouch is then heated to 240-250 °F (116-121 °C) for several minutes under high pressure inside a retort or autoclave machine. The food inside is cooked in a similar way to pressure cooking. This process reliably kills all commonly occurring microorganisms (particularly Clostridium botulinum), preventing it from spoiling. The packaging process is very similar to canning, except that the package itself is flexible. The lamination structure does not allow permeation of gases from outside into the pouch. The retort pouch construction varies from one application to another, as a liquid product needs different barrier properties than a dry product, and similarly an acidic product needs different chemical resistance than a basic product. Some different layers used in retort pouches include:
- polyester (PET) – provides a gloss and rigid layer, may be printed inside
- nylon (bi-oriented polyamide) – provides puncture resistance
- aluminum (Al) – provides a very thin but effective gas barrier
- food-grade cast polypropylene (CPP) – used as the sealing layer
- polyethylene (PE) – can be used instead of PP as a sealing and bonding layer
This multi-layer structure prevents the retort pouch from being recycled into other retort pouches or food packaging. However, the material can be recycled into an aluminized resin or up-cycled into textile materials.[6] The weight of a pouch is less than regular cans or bottles, and the energy required to produce each pouch is less than competing packaging from metals, paper, and glass.
Reception
In the consumer market, retort pouches have gained great popularity outside of the United States, particularly in the Pacific Rim region. However, American consumers have evidently demonstrated reluctance regarding the packaging technology, and its adoption has been slow. As a result, many retort packages sold in the United States are packaged in cartons to give them an appearance more familiar to consumers. Tasty Bite products are an example of a retort pouch product packaged in a carton. Several American food distributors have begun manufacturing foods in retort pouches without cartons, notably tuna canning companies Chicken of the Sea, and Bumble Bee. In 2012, the Campbell Soup Company introduced its Go line of ready-to-eat soups in stand-up retort pouches to American consumers.[7]
See also
References
- ^ Catauro, P M (2012). "Assessment of the long‐term stability of retort pouch foods to support extended duration spaceflight". Journal of Food Science. 71 (1): S29–S39. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.666.7247. doi:10.1111/j.1750-3841.2011.02445.x. PMID 22260129.
- ^ Manju, S (2004). "Heat penetration characteristics and shelf life studies of seer fish moilee packed in retort pouch" (PDF). Fishery Technology. 41 (1): 37–44. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 1, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
- ^ (Food & Drug Packaging) Retort pouches build up steam: big food companies are taking advantage of technical advances to bring out retorted products in flexible material - Technology: retort packaging [1]
- ^ "Japan's Bon Curry certified as world's longest-selling retort pouch curry brand". Mainichi Shimbun. 12 January 2023. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ "Why Flexible Packaging | Maco PKG". Maco PKG. 2015-06-29. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
- ^ "Kicking The Can: Campbell's CEO Bets On Soup-In-A-Bag For 20-Somethings". Forbes.com. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
Further reading
- Yam, K. L., "Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology", John Wiley & Sons, 2009, ISBN 978-0-470-08704-6
- v
- t
- e
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
- Cap torque tester
- 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