Help Yourself to a Good Meal with Fitpak Retort Packaging
Retort packaging is the healthier alternative to canned products. We often worry about purchasing canned food since there is often something funky about the taste and we keep hearing about that one person who got heavy metal poisoning because of it. As debates continue regarding canned food’s safety, we will talk about the much less controversial alternative to it, retort pouches.
What is retort packaging?
Retort packaging, or retort pouches, are a type of packaging solution that is used for appetizers and cooked meals, as such, they are required to withstand the sterilizing process the cooked meals go through. The sterilizing procedure entails heating the food under high pressure within the package at a temperature between 116-121°C to kill off potentially harmful microorganisms. To this end, retort packages are constructed from a flexible metal-plastic laminate that is heat resistant and has a very low gas permeability to keep the package from getting contaminated after sterilization.
Retort pouches need to be specifically constructed to be suitable for their intended contents. Simply put, liquid food would require a different structure compared to dry food and acidic food would necessitate a different chemical resistance than a basic product.
Some of the plastic layers used are as follows:
- Polyester (PET) is a rigid layer that provides a gloss and can be printed inside.
- Nylon(bi-oriented polyamide provides puncture resistance.
- Aluminium (Al) is a thin layer with very low gas permeability.
- Food-grade cast polypropylene (CPP) is used as a sealing layer.
- Polyethene (PE) is an alternative sealing and bonding layer.
Why Fitpak retort pouches?
When purchasing pre-cooked meals, it is of utmost importance that you can trust the food you are eating. By now, most of us check the contents of the food we are eating, but the packaging and sterilization process still remains largely ignored. This is a grave mistake as an unsterilized food that is haphazardly packaged without the right tools would potentially pose more threat to health than the food contents themselves. Choosing Fitpak over whatever alternative would take that step out of the way, as you’d know exactly which steps of sterilization and preparation your food and its package goes through when you buy it.
FITPAK also offers the option to contact them for more customized packaging options should such a need arise.
