Aseptic Food Products: Defined as either HIGH ACID or LOW ACID. This basically is defined by its pH. If a finished product pH is 4.6 or above, it is considered LOW ACID. If the product is below 4.6, it is HIGH ACID.

Balance Tank: This is a smaller open top tank of un-sterile product that keeps the system full of product at all times. If the level in this tank drops, more product is piped in to keep the level up.

Bliss Boxes: The bliss box is a three piece box that is ‘formed’ by a piece of automated machinery. The three pieces of corrugate needed to make this box are shipped flat and separate.

Brix: Is a term used in the food industry to describe the percent of solids in a food product. The higher the brix, the thicker the product will be.

Cold Seal: This is the opposite of a hot seal. A cold seal can be identified when the two plies can be pulled apart and only an impression of the seal remains, no tacking of the materials at that point.

Cold Spout Seal: Like a cold perimeter seal, this will leave an impression of a seal, but the material is able to be pulled away from the spout with little or no film destruction.

Cold Vertical Removal Force: The amount of force required to vertically remove the cap from the spout (Given in lbs and kgs and tested at room temperature).

Cooling: After passing through the regeneration section, the product enters the cooling stage to bring the temperature back down to stop the cooking process (most commonly performed with chilled water).

Cross Section of Film: A cross-sectional diagram of the film’s primary construction (Each layer will have its thickness designated in microns).

Elongation At Break: The amount of stretch the film underwent before the point of break (measured on the tensile test machine).

EVOH: Ethylene Vinyl Alcohol Polymer

Extended Shelf Life (ESL): Involves the pasteurization of a product and the transfer to a package in a controlled atmosphere filler.

Flaps: On boxes where there are four box flaps, these are designated based on their size and order which they are folded in (The minor flaps are normally smaller and are folded in first and the major flaps are larger and are folded in after the minors).

Flutes: The internal core of laminated papers which are laid down in an S pattern to form flutes (Usually used in the construction of cardboard boxes).

FOL Boxes: Full-Over-Lap or FOL boxes can be identified by their major flaps crossing or overlapping each other (FOL boxes come flattened and glued at the joint).  

Fold Abrasion: A mark on the bag due to the packing into the carton and is not a defect.

Food Service: Practice or business of making, transporting and serving or dispensing prepared foods, as in a restaurant or commissary.

Gauge: A unit of measurement equal to a hundredth of a mil.

Gauge of Film: This is the average nominal gauge of the film.

Glue Flap: The area of a box that overlaps and is glued to partially assemble the box for the customer.

Gravity Dispense: The cap is removed from the bag and a valve is attached to the spout. The bag is then hung in a rack that points the valve downward. Gravity then forces the product to flow when the valve is opened.

Heating: This is where the product is brought up to a specific temperature as defined by the product.

Holding Tubes: A length of insulated piping designed to hold the temperature of the product after it has been heated to a temperature.

Kinetic Coefficient of Friction (COF): The ratio of frictional force to the gravitational force acting perpendicular to the two film surface (The results are expressed as a ratio; Lower COF = more slippery film).

Less Than a Load (LTL): If your product only occupies ¼ of a trailer, the trucking company would take the trailer to a central hub, where your product could be off-loaded (or added to) to make a full trailer going to generally the same location. Once to that general location, the product would be taken off the trailer again and placed on a smaller truck for delivery to its destination.

Markets: The business of buying and selling a specified commodity.

Maximum Fill Temperature: The maximum product temperature that this fitment is rated for.

Moisture Transmission: The amount of moisture that is capable of permeating through a given area of film per day. Units are in grams of moisture per 100 in² of film per 24 hour period.

Ocean (Sea Container): Sea containers are similar to PIG containers, but are constructed of heavier steel so they may be stacked much higher on a container vessel.

Optical Density: Used on non-clear films to measure the amount of metal deposited by measuring the light transmission through the film.

Over-The-Road (OTR): The transportation of products over the road by use of trucks.

Oxygen Transmission (O₂): The amount of pure oxygen that is able to permeate through a given area of film per day.

Packaging: The number of bags that are packed per carton, the approximate weight of that carton when full of bags, the number of cartons that are shipped on a pallet when full pallet quantities are ordered, and the total number of bags that equals per pallet load.

Piggy-Back (PIG): PIG transportation involves a trailer similar to an OTR, but the box is able to be removed from the wheel chassis and placed on a flat rail car.

Poly/EVOH/Nylon (PVN): Used to describe a three ply bag composed of one ply of Poly, one of EVOH, and one of Nylon.

Poly/Nylon Bag (PN): Used to describe a two ply bag composed of Poly and Nylon.

Poly/Poly Bag (PP): Used to describe a dairy bag with two plies of Poly.

Poly/Poly/Metal (PPM): Used to describe a three ply bag composed of two plies of Poly and one of Metal.

Poly/Poly/Nylon Bag (PPN): Used to describe a three ply bag composed of two layers of Poly and one of Nylon.

Product pH: Foods are primarily defined by their finished pH. This is the acidity or alkalinity of the product. In the food industry, the dividing line for what is considered high- and low-acid is the 4.6 mark. A pH equal to or below 4.6 is considered a high-acid food. A pH above 4.6 is considered a low-acid food.

Pump: This pump is responsible for pushing the product throughout the entire filling system.

Pump-Out: This is where the bag has some sort of adaptor type cap that attaches to a hose and pump by a connector. The pump then pulls the product from the bag and delivered to a remote location. Operation of the pump is either automatically controlled by a CO2 pump or by the user operating a manual pump lever.

Puncture Resistance: Performed on an Elmendorf puncture/tear testing machine, and uses a 4" diameter sample of film to measure its resistance to puncture or impact (Results are in force grams/diameter (4").

Rail Car: When the product is loaded into a rail car of a train at the rail yard or your plant.

Regeneration: This heat exchanger section attempts to recover some of the heat energy from the exiting product to pre-heat the product entering the system.

RSC Boxes: Regular slotted container can be identified by their major flaps ‘meeting’ in the center of the box.

Slash 'n' Serve: This is where the bag is cut and the product dumped out of the bag and into another vessel.

Spout/Cap: The fitment combination that is on the bag.

Tensile Strength: The amount of strength required to break a 1" wide strip of film (Results are in gram force/sq inch).

Trailer on Flat Car (TOFC): TOFC is when the trailer is driven onto the flat car and mounted at the nose. The trailer stays on its wheels and is driven off at the destination.