Potato Chips Package: from Barrels to Half-empty Plastic Bags
Online, April 25, 2014 (Newswire.com) - Nowadays, people are familiar with potato chips and various kinds of potato chips package. But do you know the development of potato chips package? And do you know why potato chips bags are always half-empty?
The Development of Potato Chips Packages
Long time ago before the invention of sealed package, potato chips were stored in barrels or tins. But these methods have its limit--- the potato chips stored at the bottom would often be affected with damp and become stale. Later, Laura Scudder created a new method of potato chips package. That is the sealed bags which were made from waxed paper with ends ironed or stapled together. Thus implied the beginning of sealed package. Today, vacuum nitrogen filled package is used to packing potato chips which adopt various kinds of material like PP, PC, PVC, HDPE, PS. These innovations make mass production and long-term storage of potato chips becomes a likelihood.
Why is the Package Half-empty? It's Filled With Nitrogen!
People often notice that although potato chips package looks puffy, when you open it you will find it is half- empty. The reason is that it is filled with nitrogen. Why is this?
First, it can resist pressure.
After vacuum packing, the outside atmosphere pressure will impose on the bags, thus making the bag shrink and potato chips would be easily crushed. But if it is filled with nitrogen, the inside pressure will surpass the outside atmosphere pressure. So it can prevent potato chips from being crushed. Besides, if the package is filled with potato chips and lack of space to accommodate the changes of pressure, it would cause troubles. For example, if the trucks carries potato chips passes through high-altitude regions, the package would break.
Second, it can cut off gas penetration.
Vacuum nitrogen filled package generally adopts composite film material, whose gas tightness is better but still possess gas tightness permeability. After packing, outside atmosphere will still slowly penetrate into the package, which will affect the shelf life of potato chips. If it is filled with nitrogen, inside pressure is greater than outside, so the air outside is difficult to penetrate into the package, thus effectively extending the shelf life of potato chips.
Third, it can retain freshness.
Unlike oxygen, which would oxidize some elements that existed in potato chips and then make potato chips go bad, nitrogen is an inert gas, which will prevent outside air from penetrating into the package. Besides, it can also inhibit the growth of microorganism, thus protect potato chips.
Our potato chips packing machine has the funtion of extracting the air in the bag and sealing the bag with high efficiency, while nitrogen can be filled in, so as to keep the potato chips fresh and make it convenient for storage and transportation.