Food package having food bowl and independent topping container

Abstract

Disclosed is an optically transparent food package including a sealed food bowl that is filled with a food, such as hummus or the like, and an independent sealed topping container that is filled with a topping to be mixed with the food when the food is consumed. The food package is assembled when the topping container is laid on top of the food bowl and a lid is detachably connected to the food bowl with the topping container retained therebetween such that the topping is suspended above the food. By virtue of the sealed food bowl and the sealed and independent topping container of the food package, the food and the topping will remain separated from one another prior to, during and after the food package is subjected to a high pressure processing (HPP) treatment in order to avoid mixing the food and the topping together prior to their being consumed.

1 . A food package comprising:
 a first food container and a first food carried by said first food container; and   a second food container and a second food carried by said second food container, wherein said second food is to be mixed with said first food so that the mixture of said first and second foods can be consumed,   said second food container being held in place above said first food container so that said second food is suspended above and separated from said first food prior to the first and second foods being mixed together and consumed.   
     
     
         2 . The food package recited in  claim 1 , wherein the first food carried by said first food container is hummus, and the second food carried by said second food container is a hummus topping including at least a spice. 
     
     
         3 . The food package recited in  claim 1 , also comprising a lid detachably connected to said first food container so that said second food container is held in place by said lid between said first food container and said lid. 
     
     
         4 . The food package recited in  claim 3 , wherein each of said first food container, said second food container, and said lid is manufactured from a visually transparent material so that said first and second foods are visible through said lid and said first and second food containers. 
     
     
         5 . The food package recited in  claim 3 , wherein said lid is detachably connected to said first food container so as to lie over and enclose said second food container and hold said second food container in place above said first food container. 
     
     
         6 . The food package recited in  claim 5 , wherein said lid has a peripheral base extending therearound and a set of locking detents formed in said peripheral base, and said first food container has a top and a peripheral lip extending around said top, said set of locking detents from the peripheral base of said lid being located below and engaged by the peripheral lip of said first food container when said lid is detachably connected to said first food container. 
     
     
         7 . The food package recited in  claim 5 , wherein said lid has a closed top lying over said first food container and a raised portion extending upwardly from said closed top away from said first food container, said second food container being removably received within said raised portion when said lid is detachably connected to said first food container, whereby said second food container is held in place by said raised portion between said first food container and said lid. 
     
     
         8 . The food package recited in  claim 7 , wherein said second food container has an outwardly extending ridge running therearound and the raised portion of said lid has a set of locking detents formed therein, the outwardly extending ridge of said second food container being engaged by the set of locking detents of the raised portion of said lid to hold said second food container in place within said raised portion so as to lie above said first food container. 
     
     
         9 . The food package recited in  claim 7 , wherein said second food container is tapered and includes a relatively wide top and a relatively narrow bottom, the relatively narrow bottom of said second food container being removably received within the raised portion of said lid, and the relatively wide top of said second food container laying against said first food container when said lid is detachably connected to said first food container. 
     
     
         10 . The food package recited in  claim 7 , wherein said first food container has a closed bottom and a stacking recess formed in and extending upwardly from said closed bottom towards the raised portion which extends upwardly from the top of said lid when said lid is detachably connected to said first food container, the stacking recess formed in the bottom of said first food container having a size and a shape that conform to the size and the shape of the raised portion of said lid. 
     
     
         11 . A method for making a food package with food packaged therein and ready for consumption, said method comprising the steps of:
 locating a first food in a first closed and visually transparent food container;   locating a second food in a second closed and visually transparent food container, where said second food container is independent from said first food container and said second food is separated from said first food;   positioning said second food container above said first food container so that said second food is suspended above said first food;   detachably connecting a visually transparent lid to said first food container so that said second food container is held in place by said lid between said first food container and said lid and said first and second foods are visible through each of said visually transparent first food container, said second food container and said lid;   subjecting said first and second food containers to a high pressure processing (HPP) treatment to eliminate potentially harmful food-borne pathogens from said first and second foods after said lid has been detachably connected to said first food container;   detaching the lid from said first food container and opening each of said first and second food containers after the HPP treatment of said first and second food containers has been completed; and   mixing one of said first and second foods in one of said first and second food containers with the other one of said first and second foods in the other one of said first and second food containers and consuming the resulting mixture.