Advantages of flexible pouches
Flexible pouches have several advantages over metal and glass containers:
- Their shape adapts to available space.
- They are lighter in weight
- When empty they require less space
- When filled, their thickness dimension is small, permitting faster processing times and mitigating heat damage to foods
- Heat penetration is greater
- They are not subject to corrosion or breakage
- They are easier to open.
Disadvantages of flexible pouches
Flexible pouches have a few disadvantages:
- Pouches cannot be filled as rapidly
- They are awkward to handle, especially the larger ones
- They give no structural support to fragile contents
- They are somewhat vulnerable to tearing and cutting
The materials used in pouches are generally composite laminates and quite strong. They include an outer layer of polyester, which has nearly the tensile strength of steel and resists wear and tear, an inner layer of nylon or propylene that resists wear and tear and seals well, and aluminum foil as a middle layer for eliminating light from the contents as well as for making the pouch material impermeable to gases. The layers are bonded together with an adhesive. While flexible pouches can be processed in conventional retorts, special systems have been developed; in most cases, the systems are continuous.Flexible Pouches as Packaging
