Indicating package

Abstract

A package of oxygen sensitive product ( 10 ) has a body ( 5 ) a lid ( 15 ). The lid ( 15 ) includes a membrane ( 17 ), which incorporates ink ( 16 ), adapted to react to the presence or absence of a particular gas or mixture of gases in the headspace ( 25 ) of the package. The ink ( 16 ) is protected from the external environment by a barrier material ( 50, 51, 52 ), but is in fluid communication with the headspace ( 25 ). The barrier material ( 50, 51, 52 ) is chosen such that a user of the package may detect the reaction of the ink ( 16 ) through the barrier material.

1 . A package for an oxygen sensitive product comprising:
 a body that is impervious to gases,   a lid sealed to the body incorporating a gas barrier material and arranged between the external environment and the body to form a gas sealed chamber for the product, and   an ink adapted to react to the presence or absence of a particular gas or mixture of gases, the ink is protected from the external environment by the barrier material, the product is protected from the ink by a gas permeable material allowing fluid communication with the inside of the package, whereby   the reaction of the ink is capable of detection by a user of the package through the barrier material.   
     
     
         2 . A package according to  claim 1 , wherein the reaction of the ink is measured through the barrier material using an external device. 
     
     
         3 . A package according to  claim 1 , wherein the reaction of the ink is a color change, which is visible though the barrier material. 
     
     
         4 . A package according to  claim 3 , wherein the lid further includes a reference color against which the color of the ink may be compared. 
     
     
         5 . A package according to  claim 1 , further including a filling aperture and a gas impermeable end ( 30 ) for sealing the filling aperture. 
     
     
         6 . A package of oxygen sensitive product comprising:
 a body and a lid sealed to the body to encapsulate the product and a headspace therein,   the lid including a gas barrier material arranged between the external environment and the body, and   an ink adapted to react to the presence or absence of a particular gas or mixture of gases in the headspace, the ink is protected from the external environment by the barrier material and the inside of the package is protected from the ink  16  by a gas permeable material allowing fluid communication with the headspace.   
     
     
         7 . A package of oxygen sensitive product according to  claim 6 , wherein
 the lid includes a gas permeable material arranged between the ink and the headspace.   
     
     
         8 . A package of oxygen sensitive product according to  claim 6 , wherein the lid has a laminate structure, which includes a layer of barrier material, a layer incorporating the ink and a layer of gas permeable material. 
     
     
         9 . A process for packaging an oxygen sensitive product comprising the steps of,
 securing a lid comprising an ink to a hollow body,   filling the body with an oxygen sensitive product to define a headspace above the free surface of the product,   flushing the headspace with a gas or mixture of gases, which cause the ink to adopt a first state so long as the headspace contains the gas or mixture of gases at a predetermined level.   
     
     
         10 . A process for packaging an oxygen sensitive product according to  claim 9 , wherein the ink reacts in response to the level of carbon dioxide in the head space. 
     
     
         11 . A process for packaging an oxygen sensitive product according to  claim 9  wherein the ink reacts in response to the presence of a defined level of oxygen in the headspace and the lid further includes an oxygen scavenger,
 flushing the headspace with a gas or mixture of gases after filling with a product to substantially remove air from the headspace any remaining oxygen being removed by the scavenger, and 
 activating the ink so that it responds to a defined level of oxygen in the headspace. 
 
     
     
         12 . A process for packaging an oxygen sensitive product according to  claim 11 , wherein the scavenger is a palladium catalyst and the headspace is flushed with a mixture of gases containing hydrogen, which reacts with any oxygen remaining in the headspace to form water. 
     
     
         13 . A process for packaging an oxygen sensitive product according to  claim 11 , where the oxygen sensitive ink is activated by exposure to UV light.