Pasteurizable wide-mouth container

Abstract

A wide-mouth blow-molded plastic container capable of accommodating, without undesirable distortion, super-baric pressures when filled with volatile food products and pasteurized, and sub-baric pressures after cooling to ambient temperatures. A method of packaging a food product in the container is also disclosed.

1 . A wide-mouth blow-molded plastic container ( 10 ) capable of accommodating without undesirable distortion super-baric pressures when filled with product at elevated temperatures and capped and sub-baric pressures after cooling to ambient temperatures comprising; 
 a sidewall ( 11 ) having a plurality of peripheral vertically spaced grooves ( 11   d );    a dome ( 12 ) located above said sidewall ( 11 ) having a wide mouth opening ( 12   a ) adapted to receive a sealed closure;    a footed, pressure resistant, base ( 13 ) below said sidewall ( 11 );    an upper label bumper ( 15 ) extending around the upper end ( 11   a ) of said sidewall ( 11 ) subjacent said dome ( 12 ); and    a lower label bumper ( 16 ) extending around the lower end ( 11   b ) of said sidewall ( 11 ) superadjacent said base ( 13 );    whereby the sidewall grooves ( 11   d ) cooperate with the dome ( 12 ) and base ( 13 ) to stiffen the container ( 10 ) against undesirable distortion due to the swing from super-baric to sub-baric pressures within the container ( 10 ) when filled and capped.    
     
     
         2 . A wide-mouth blow-molded PET plastic container ( 10 ) capable of accommodating without undesirable distortion super-baric pressures when filled with product at elevated temperatures and capped and sub-baric pressures after cooling to ambient temperatures comprising; 
 a cylindrical sidewall ( 11 ) having a plurality of peripheral vertically spaced grooves  11   d ); said sidewall ( 11 ) having a crystallinity in excess of 25 percent;    a dome ( 12 ) located above said sidewall ( 11 ) having a blown wide-mouth opening ( 12   a ) adapted to receive a sealed closure; said opening ( 12   a ) having a diameter (D 2 ) sufficient to afford access to and withdrawal of said food product by means of a conventional item of tableware;    a petaloid footed base ( 13 ) below said sidewall ( 11 );    an upper label bumper ( 15 ) extending outwardly and peripherally around the upper end ( 11   a ) of said sidewall ( 11 ) subjacent said dome ( 12 ); and    a lower label bumper ( 16 ) extending outwardly and peripherally around the lower end ( 11   b ) of said sidewall ( 11 ) superadjacent said base ( 13 );    whereby the sidewall grooves ( 11   d ) cooperate with the dome ( 12 ) and base ( 13 ) to stiffen the container ( 10 ) against undesirable distortion due to the swing from super-baric to sub-baric pressures within the container when filled and capped.    
     
     
         3 . An energy-efficient method of packaging a food product, comprising the steps of: 
 selecting a blow-molded PET plastic container ( 10 ) having a sidewall ( 11 ) with a plurality of peripheral vertical grooves ( 11   d ), a dome ( 12 ) located above said sidewall ( 11 ) having a blown, wide-mouth opening ( 12   a ) adapted to receive a sealed closure, a footed base ( 13 ) below said sidewall ( 11 ), an upper label bumper ( 15 ) extending around the upper end ( 11   a ) of said sidewall ( 11 ) subjacent said dome ( 12 ), a lower label bumper ( 16 ) extending around the lower end ( 11   b ) of said sidewall ( 11 ) superadjacent said base ( 13 );    hot-filling the container ( 10 ) with said food product;    capping the filled container ( 10 );    heating the filled and capped container ( 10 ) for a time at a temperature sufficient to pasteurize said food product; and    cooling the pasteurized filled and capped container ( 10 ) to ambient temperature.    
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 3  wherein said food product is a volatile vegetable in an aqueous medium.  
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 4  where said volatile vegetable is selected from the group consisting of: pickles, relish, sauerkraut and artichokes.  
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 3  wherein said filled and capped container is heated to a temperature in a range of at least about 190-210° F. for a period in a range of 5-20 minutes.  
     
     
         7 . The method-according to  claim 3  wherein said hot-filling steps occurs at a temperature of at least about 180° F.  
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 3  wherein the container is at ambient temperature prior to hot-filling.