Gourmet To Go is not the first modified-atmosphere package from Fresher Than Fresh. Nearly four years ago the firm launched a line of fish under the Fresher Than Fresh brand that’s still available today.
The Fresher Than Fresh product line is packaged on the same Ross tray sealing machine used for the Gourmet To Go line. Backflushed into each package is a similar mix of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. AERpack® foam trays are supplied by coopbox (Reggio Emilia, Italy). That firm coextrudes a five-layer polyethylene/tie/ethylene vinyl alcohol/tie/PE structure and laminates it to expanded polystyrene foam. From this lamination, trays are thermoformed. Clear barrier lidding is from Cryovac (Duncan, SC), which chooses not to divulge the material’s makeup. While sheet-fed lidding is used on Gourmet To Go, this material is supplied as rollstock.
Unlike Gourmet To Go, the Fresher Than Fresh line is not in a cook-in tray, nor does the package include vegetables or a starch; a pressure-sensitive label replaces the paperboard sleeve used on Gourmet To Go. Also different is that in the supermarket, while Gourmet To Go is in its own special refrigerated display case and is positioned as a meal solution, Fresher Than Fresh is sold near the fish department service counter. Another key difference: While Gourmet To Go is delivered store-door, the Fresher Than Fresh line can be handled through central distribution points.
