Reduced-fat crackers demand flavor protection

"Both flavor and aroma tend to be lost more readily with a reduced-fat product," says Dave Elsinger, senior packaging engineer at Nabisco. So when Nabisco introduced its Reduced Fat Cheese Nips® in a 12.5-oz bag-in-box package, barrier properties capable of retaining cheese flavor and odor were among the most critical issues in choosing a film structure. The selection: 60-ga metallized heat-sealable Torayfan® PMX, an oriented polypropylene, laminated to an outer layer of 60-ga clear Torayfan F61 W OPP. Nabisco also considered a nylon-based coex structure, says Elsinger, which offered good aroma barrier. "But it fell short of our 0.06 g/100 sq in/24 hr moisture vapor transmission rate barrier requirements," he says. The Toray lamination, on the other hand, tested as low as 0.024 g/100 sq in/24hr." Available now in certain regions, Reduced Fat Cheese Nips should be in nationwide distribution early next year.