Food container and method of storing food

The present invention relates to containers for foods. In particular, the invention relates to containers for frozen and semi-frozen food products such as ice-cream and yoghurt based products.

Packaging for individual portions of frozen and semi-frozen food products such as ice-cream and yoghurt based products are generally split into two types. The first type is packaging that is designed such that the consumer can easily open and consume the food product directly from the container. The second type is packaging arranged for use with dispensing machines that dispense the food into a serving container, for example a dish or a wafer cone. With this second type of container, a consumer cannot easily remove the food without the use of a dispensing machine.

The current invention relates to the first type of container, in which the food product is consumed directly from the container.

It is well known that an individual portion of frozen/semi-frozen food product may be wrapped in a film of plastics material or a paper based wrapper that can be torn open by a consumer at the point of sale or when removed from a home freezer unit. For products in this type of wrapper, either the wrapper is partially opened and used to hold the food when being consumed, for example choc-ices, or the product is mounted on a stick and the wrapper is discarded before eating. In either case, as the ice-cream begins to melt during eating it often flows downwards onto the consumers hands making them very sticky.

One known ice-lolly confectionery comprises a tapered tubular container comprising a cardboard substrate that is coated with a plastics material on its inner face. The container is closed at one end and has an opening at its opposite end. The open end is sealed with a removable cover. When the consumer wants to eat the food, the seal is removed and the user squeezes the tubing to push the confectionery out of the container so that it can be consumed. A problem with this type of container is that the user needs to apply manual pressure to the container during eating to prevent the ice-lolly from slipping back into the tube. If a user squeezes too hard the ice-lolly may slide out of the container and fall onto the floor.

Another form of known container is the ‘ice-cream tub’. An ice-cream tub holds an individual portion of ice-cream and is relatively convenient to handle however it is necessary to supply a plastics or wooden spoon with each portion so that the consumer can remove the ice-cream from the tub. The consumer has to have two hands free to remove ice-cream from this type of container.

Yet another type of known container is the so called “push-up” container. This type of container comprises a squat tubular body having a large diameter and short length that includes a plunger arranged to move within the body. The consumer holds the tubular body in one hand and pushes the food product out of the container from below with the plunger. Again, two hands are required to operate this type of device. Another drawback is that prior to consumption, the plunger is located at one end of the tubular body and its handle protrudes a significant distance out of the tube. This makes it an inefficient design for packing and transportation.

The current invention seeks to provide an alternative type of container that is designed such that the consumer can open and remove the food product contained therein without the use of a dispensing device.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a container for foods that includes a hollow body having an opening and a piston located within the body, wherein the container is constructed and arranged such that, in use, the piston moves within the body in response to a consumer sucking the food from the container via the opening.

The container can be used to store frozen and semi-frozen foods such as ice-cream and yoghurt based products. It allows the food to be consumed directly from the container, without the need for a spoon or a dispensing device. Because the food is removed from the container by sucking the eating action can be performed whilst the consumer is holding the container with only one hand without the possibility of ice-cream dripping onto the consumer\'s hand since the ice-cream is delivered from the body of the container directly to the consumer\'s mouth. Furthermore, this prevents the possibility of ice-cream falling onto the floor. If the consumer drops the device on to the floor the food product is largely protected from the ingress of dirt by the container body. Since the container does not include a handle that protrudes from the body it can be packed efficiently.

Containers for solid and semi-solid foods that include a piston are known in the art. For example, the container disclosed in EP 0995685 is arranged for use in a dispensing device and requires a magnitude of force that can be delivered by such a device in order for the piston to be driven within the body of the container and for the food product to be dispensed. The dimensions are such that a user would not be able to comfortably fit his/her mouth around the opening of the container. Furthermore, the outlet through which the ice-cream is dispensed comprises a star shape cut into a tapered wall. The outlet is surrounded by a shroud. The arrangement is such that it would be very difficult for a consumer to make an effective seal with his/her mouth to suck ice-cream from the container. Also, the pressure differential that a consumer can create when sucking is not sufficiently large to move the piston within the body of the container.

Preferably the body is elongate. Advantageously the hollow body includes a portion of substantially uniform cross-section. The piston is arranged to move along that part of the container in response to the sucking action of the consumer.

Preferably the body is tubular and has an internal width in the range 15 mm to 40 mm, and 20 more preferably in the range 15 mm to 35 mm and more preferably in the range 20 mm to 30 mm. In a preferred embodiments the body is substantially cylindrical and the width ranges provided above relate to diameter sizes. A preferred embodiment has an internal diameter of approximately 25 mm.

Advantageously the internal cross-sectional area of the tube is in the range 150 mm² to 25 1250 mm², more preferably in the range 150 mm² to 1000 mm², and more preferably still between 200 mm² and 800 mm². This helps to ensure that the consumer is able to suck the food from the container. It also helps to ensure that the container has a large surface area to allow heat to enter it to warm the food and to enable it to flow within the body.

In some preferred embodiments the body is elongate and tubular. Preferably the length of the body is in the range 70 mm to 300 mm. When the container is used with ice-cream or frozen yoghurt type products, it is necessary for at least part of the food to melt to enable the food to be sucked from the container. To speed up the melting process the consumer can hold the container in his/her hands to allow his/her body heat to melt the food. The elongate form presents a large surface area to the consumer to warm with his/her hands. Preferably the body is arranged to enable heat transfer to the food such that the food will be ready for eating in a time range of 5 seconds to 3 minutes in an ambient temperature of 20° C., and more preferably in a range of 30 seconds to 2 minutes, and more preferably still in a range of 45 seconds to 90 seconds.

The container body can be made from a food quality plastics material such as Borealis or polypropylene. Alternatively, the container body can be made from cardboard, or plastic coated paper based material. The choice of material for the body of the container and the thickness of the material will affect the rate at which heat is transferred to the frozen food product and thus influence how quickly the product will be ready for consumption. Preferably the container body has a wall thickness in the range 0.05 mm to 1 mm, and is preferably around 0.8 mm.

Advantageously the container can be substantially rigid. The container is sufficiently rigid to enable the piston to move along the tub in normal use without it collapsing. Preferably the container has a substantially circular cross-section but may comprise other shapes such as substantially elliptical, triangular, square, rectangular, pentagonal, hexagonal or octagonal.

Preferably the container includes a mouthpiece including an outlet through which food in the compartment may be consumed by sucking on the mouthpiece, wherein the mouthpiece is arranged such that the consumer can make a seal around the mouthpiece with his mouth. The mouthpiece can be any suitable shape for being received into the mouth of a person, for example the mouth piece may be a nozzle having a substantially circular, elliptical, triangular, square, rectangular, pentagonal, hexagonal or octagonal cross-section. The mouthpiece is positioned at the end of the body from which food is sucked and wherein the enclosed volume between the piston and the mouthpiece defines a compartment for receiving the food.

Preferably the mouthpiece includes a tapered portion. For example, the mouthpiece can be arranged such that its cross-sectional area decreases towards the outlet. Preferably the cross-sectional area at the outlet is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the container body. Alternatively, the mouthpiece can be non-tapered and, for example may have the same cross-section as the body (as in FIG. 6). Preferably the cross-sectional area of the outlet is in the range 75 mm² to 700 mm², more preferably in the range 175 mm² to 500 mm² and more preferably still in the range 200 mm² to 300 mm². Advantageously the walls of the mouthpiece that define the outlet of the mouthpiece are arranged such that the outlet is substantially planar. This assists the user to make an effective seal around the outlet and also enables a seal, such as a tear off foil seal, to be placed across the outlet. The mouthpiece may be reasealable, for example the mouthpiece can be flexible or include a flexible portion such that mouthpiece is arranged to fold between open and closed positions. Alternatively the mouthpiece may include a hinged seal member.

Advantageously the piston and the interior of the body can be arranged to provide a seal sufficient to prevent the food from leaking from the container. For example, the fit between the piston and the internal face of the body may be sufficient to achieve this whilst enabling the piston to move substantially freely within the tube under the sucking action of the consumer. Alternatively the piston may include at least one seal member for providing the seal. For example, the or each seal member is located in a groove formed on the outer surface of the piston. Preferably the piston includes a plurality of seal members. Advantageously the seal members may comprise o-rings located in grooves formed in the outer surface of the piston. In preferred embodiments, the arrangement is such that when the user stops sucking the piston remains stationary. This means that when the user stops sucking food does not flow out of the container. This prevents the possibility of the food falling onto the floor. It also prevents the food from falling back down to the bottom of the container, which means the food is always adjacent the opening and does not have to be sucked from the base of the container.

Preferably the container includes means for scraping the interior of the container as the piston moves along the body of the container. For example, the piston may include at least one scraper member. The scraper member may include a helical profile on an external surface of the piston that is arranged to scrape the internal face of the body as the piston moves within the body. Alternatively the or each scraper member can be in the form of an annular member extending from the exterior of the piston. Preferably the or each scraper member is located in a groove formed in the outer surface of the piston. Advantageously the or each scraper member can be flexible. The means for scraping the internal face of the body may provide a seal between the piston and the body that is arranged to prevent the food from leaking from the container. Preferably the piston includes a portion that is complementary to the interior of the container body. Preferably the piston includes a disc portion. Preferably the piston includes a skirt portion. For example, the piston can be substantially cylindrical, wherein the disc and skirt portions define a hollow cylindrical body, closed at one end and open at the other. Advantageously the or each scraper member and/or the or each seal member can be arranged to protrude outwards from the skirt portion. Preferably the skirt portion is flexible.

In some embodiments the piston has a profiled upper surface. For example, the upper surface of the piston may be domed, curved or convex. Alternatively the tipper surface can be substantially planar.

Advantageously the piston can be substantially spherical.