Recently, Pliant Corp. launched its SteamQuick™ packaging for steam-cooking frozen vegetables, earning a Gold Award from the Flexible Packaging Assn. for Technical Achievement.
The structure serves as a built-in steam-venting system that allows the frozen product to be steam-cooked in the microwave oven without the need to remove the foods from the bag, and without having to pierce holes in the bag for steam venting in the microwave.
An automatic steam-venting system built into the laminate ensures that the frozen vegetables are uniformly steam-cooked at the optimum temperature and pressure, allowing the steam to safely release before the pack is removed from the microwave oven. The seal area remains cool for safe removal of the cooked vegetables from the pack.
The structure withstands both sub-zero freezer temperatures as well as the temperatures generated within the microwave oven. More typical polyethylene/PE, polypropylene/PE, or polyester/PE laminates may only be able to handle cold temperatures.
The packs make use of a proprietary resin blend, coextrusion, and automatic steam-venting technologies to accommodate those temperature differences. A coextruded film serves as the sealant layer, designed to provide excellent seal strength in the freezer or microwave. The sealant’s core layer includes high-temperature-resistance polymers, while the outer skin layer prevents the pack from breaking in the freezer.
The package is flexographically printed with process and line colors, providing a glossy and detailed billboard image.
