The present invention relates to a packaging system comprising a bottom dispensing package for a flowable composition, comprising a squeezable container for housing the flowable composition, a base element that is fixed to the container , whereby the base element comprises an orifice whereby the orifice is placed in the direction of gravity beneath the container when the dispensing package is placed in its head-stand position on the base element, whereby the base element further comprises a closure connected to the base element and the closure can be moved back and forth between a closed position in which the closure closes the orifice and an open position in which the composition can be released through the orifice. The present invention also relates to method for determining the shelf-life of a composition in a packaging system and storage-life calculation system for a packaging system.

Bottom dispensing packages are well known in the prior art. There is a permanent desire for improving and controlling the oxygen and humidity intake from the outside of an according package to the inside of the package. A high and uncontrolled inbound transfer of oxygen and humidity may lead to a significant lower durability of the contained products inside the bottom dispensing package, as the oxygen and humidity may chemically and/or biologically interact with the contained product. The durability of the products contained in such bottom dispensing packages have been calculated based on estimations and experiences which frequently leads to situations in that the estimated best-before-dates are earlier than necessary.

Hence it is the objective of the present invention to provide a packaging system that allows a precise and safe calculation of a best-before-date. It is a further objective of the invention to provide an improved method to calculate the best-before-date of a packaging system. It is yet another objective of the invention to provide a storage- life calculation system for a packaging system.

This problem is solved by a packaging system comprising a bottom dispensing package for a flowable composition, comprising a squeezable container for housing the flowable composition, a base element that is fixed to the container , whereby the base element comprises an orifice whereby the orifice is placed in the direction of gravity beneath the container when the dispensing package is placed in its head-stand position on the base element, whereby the base element further comprises a closure connected to the base element and the closure can be moved back and forth between a closed position in which the closure closes the orifice and an open position in which the composition can be released through the orifice, whereby the base element has first contact surface with the container, and/or the container has second contact surface with the base element, the base element further comprises a slit-valve fixed to the orifice, which is especially configurated to prevent the composition to pass the slit-valve as long as the container is not squeezed by an user and the orifice of the container is not sealed by a removable liner element, and the composition is characterised at the time of its initial filling into the bottom dispensing package by a Hunter-Color-Space L,a,b with L between 35-45, a between 20-25, b between 10-20, a pH-value between 3, 5-4, 5, a viscosity between 4, 0-9,0, preferably between 5, 0-7, 5 and an undiluted BRIX value between 9-11 %, so that the storage-life of the composition in the bottom dispensing package can be calculated by a linear function of the type f(0 ₂ -%) = [a] ^* [t], where [a] is a dispensing package system specific oxygen permeation constant chosen to be between 0,002-0,2 0 ₂ -%/t, preferably between 0,02-0,050 ₂ -%/t, where [t] is the time lapsed after the bottom dispensing package has been first filled with the composition.

The storage-life of the composition is predominately determined by the oxygen intake into the bottom dispensing package. Hence, the oxygen increase in the composition over time has a direct correlation to the storage-life of the composition. In other words, the higher the oxygen content is in the composition, the shorter the storage-life of the composition is due to chemical and/or biological reactions of the composition with the oxygen.

It has been shown by the applicant that by configurating the bottom dispensing package and the composition within the claimed parameter intervals, the storage- life of the composition follows a linear function. This allows an easy and reliable calculation of best-before-dates for the claimed package systems consisting of the bottom dispensing package and the composition contained therein.

Allowing to calculate the best-before-dates more accurately will lead to less waste generated by thrown away products that have expired best-before-dates although their content is still consumable without any risks.

The orifice of the container is not sealed by a removable liner element such as an aluminium coated liner, which has to be removed by an user prior to the first use of the dispensing package. Hence, the user can dispense a flowable composition from the dispensing package directly after the first opening of the closure without the necessity of additionally removing the aluminium coated liner form the squeezable container. Beside of the enhanced user convenience of the claimed dispensing package, its more environmentally friendly as it avoids the use of a throw-away article such as the aluminium coated liner. As aluminium is also associated with triggering Alzheimer-disease and other diseases, the claimed dispensing package is also acceptable for health sensitive users.

The flowable composition has a viscosity between 4-9, preferable between 5-7,5. The viscosity of the flowable composition can be measured with a Bostwick™ Consistometer according to ASTM F1080-93. The Brix-Value of the undiluted composition can be for example measured with a refractometer like the Pocket Brix-Meter PAL-BX from Atago ^® .

The Hunter-Color-space can be for example determined with a HunterLabs Aeros™ Spectrophotometer.

A container according to this invention is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and shipping. Flowable materials kept inside of a container are protected by being inside of its structure. A container according to this invention can be especially selected from the group of bottles, particularly plastic bottles, cans or bags. The container can be pressurised or non-pressurised in its initially closed state.

A flowable material according to this invention may be selected from the group of fluids, gels, pastes, gases, granular solids in particulate form or mixtures thereof.

It is especially preferred that within the time [t] lapsed after the bottom dispensing package has been first filled with the composition, the squeezable container has been at least squeezed once so that the composition has been at least discharged once. It has been found that the storage-life of the composition in the bottom dispensing package is still flowing a linear function of the type f(0 ₂ -%) = [a] * [t], even if the bottom dispensing package has been at least once used by a user. This also allows a calculation of a best-before-date for the packaging system independent from the date the bottom dispensing package has been used for dispensing the composition for the first time.

Further improvements may be achieved in that the relative contact surface between the base element and the container is > 10 mm ² . The relative contact surface is calculated as the contact surface between the base element and the container divided by the surface of the container. It is further preferred that the relative contact surface between the base element and the container has a cylindrical shape. It is additionally preferred that the relative contact surface between the base element and the container is provided at the orifice of the base element.

It could be proven by the applicant that according to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the base element is fixed onto the container so that the surface contact pressure between the first contact surface of the base element and the second contact surface of the container is > 1 kp/cm ²

The closure of the dispensing package may be actuated by turning, screwing, twisting, pulling, pushing, pivoting or a combination thereof relative to the base element. It is especially preferred that the closure is a lid, that is connected to the base element by a hinge so that the lid is pivotably moved between a closed and an open position. The bottom dispensing package may further comprise at least one tamper evidence indication means for especially visually indicating if the closure has once been moved out of its closed position. In this context it is especially preferred that the composition may contact the slit-valve when the closure has not been moved once out of its closed position.

The base element including the orifice and the closure, and/or the container is preferably made of a plastic material. It is further highly preferred that the base element, including the orifice and the closure, and/or the container is made from PET. It is also well preferred that the base element, including the orifice and the closure, and/or the container is made of the same plastic material, especially preferred the same PET material. It may also be preferred to make the base element from a PP or HDPE and the container from a PET, HDPE or PP.

According to another preferred embodiment of the invention the slit-valve is made from elastomeric material, especially from a TPE, silicon or PU. According to another preferred embodiment, the slit-valve is having a cross-shaped slit. The slit- valve may be fixed to the orifice according to a yet also preferred embodiment of the invention.

The problem of the invention is further solved by a method for determining the shelf-life of a composition in a packaging system comprising the following steps: • Providing a bottom dispensing package for a flowable composition, comprising a squeezable container for housing the flowable composition,

• Filling the composition into the bottom dispensing package whereby the composition is characterised at the time of its initial filling into the bottom dispensing package by a Hunter-Color-Space L,a,b with L between 35-45, a between 20-25, b between 10-20, a pH-value between 3, 5-4, 5, a viscosity between 4, 0-9,0, preferably between 5, 0-7, 5 and an undiluted BRIX value between 9-11 %,

• Closing of the container with a base element that is fixed to the container,

• whereby the base element comprises an orifice whereby the orifice is placed in the direction of gravity beneath the container when the dispensing package is placed in its head-stand position on the base element,

• whereby the base element further comprises a closure connected to the base element and the closure can be moved back and forth between a closed position in which the closure closes the orifice and an open position in which the composition can be released through the orifice,

• whereby the base element has a first contact surface with the container, and/or the container has a second contact surface with the base element,

• the base element further comprises a slit-valve fixed to the orifice, which is especially configurated to prevent the composition to pass the slit-valve as long as the container is not squeezed by a user and • Calculating the storage-life of the composition in the bottom dispensing package by a linear function of the type f(0 ₂ -%) = [a] ^* [t], where [a] is a dispensing package system specific oxygen permeation constant chosen to be between 0,002-0,2 0 ₂ -%/t, preferably between 0,02-0,050 ₂ -%/t, where [t] is the time lapsed after the bottom dispensing package has been first filled with the composition.

The problem of the invention is also solved by a storage-life calculation system for a packaging system comprising a computer-program-product which is configured to calculate the storage-life of the composition in a bottom dispensing package by a linear function of the type f(0 ₂ -%) = [a] * [t], where [a] is a dispensing package system specific oxygen permeation constant chosen to be between 0,002-0,20 ₂ -%/t, preferably between 0,02-0,050 ₂ -%/t, where [t] is the time lapsed after the bottom dispensing package has been first filled with the composition.

In the following, the invention will be explained in more detail on the basis of figures without limiting the general concept of the invention.

Figure 1 a bottom dispensing package in a perspective view,

Figure 2 a base element with an opened closure in a perspective view,

Figure 3 a base element with a closed closure in a cross-sectional view,

Figure 4 a cross-sectional detailed view if the connection between the container and the base element, and

Figure 5 measurement results of a packaging system in a diagram. Figure 1 shows a bottom dispensing package 1 for a flowable composition 6. The dispensing package comprises a squeezable container 2 for housing the flowable composition 6 and a base element 3 that is fixed to the container 2. The base element 3 further comprises a closure 7 connected to the base element 3 which can be moved back and forth between a closed position 9 in which the closure 7 closes the orifice 4 and an open position 10 in which the composition 6 can be released through the orifice 4. The orifice 4 is placed in the direction of gravity beneath the container 2 when the dispensing package 1 is placed in its head-stand position on the base element 3. In Figure 1 , the closure 7 is shown in its closed position 9.

Figure 2 shows the closure 7 in its open position. In the shown examples the closure 7 is a lid, that is connected to the base element 3 by a hinge 8. As it can be seen from Figure 2, the base element 3 comprises a cylindrical orifice 4, which extends from the base element 3 in an axial direction away from the container 2.

The dispensing package 1 further comprises at least one tamper evidence indication mean 11 for especially visually indicating if the closure 7 has once been moved out of its closed position 9. The tamper evidence indication means 11 ensures a tight and defined closure of the closure 7 prior to the first use of the dispensing package by a user. The closure 7 is fixed onto a contact surface 14 of the base element, at least as long the closure has not been opened by a user.

Corresponding to the cylindrical shape of the orifice 4, the closure 7 has a cylindrical closure element 16, whereby the inner shell surface of the closure element 16 contacts the outer shell contact surface 14 of the orifice 4.

As it is shown in the Figure 3, the base element 3 further comprises a slit-valve 5 fixed to the orifice 4, which is especially configurated to prevent the composition 6 to pass the slit-valve 5 as long as the container 2 is not squeezed by a user. The orifice 4 of the container 2 is not sealed by a removable liner element, so that the composition 6 is in direct contact with the slit-valve 5. The composition 6 is characterised at the time of its initial filling into the bottom dispensing package 1 by a Hunter-Color-Space L,a,b with L between 35-45, a between 20-25, b between 10-20, a pH-value between 3, 5-4, 5, a viscosity between 4, 0-9,0, preferably between 5, 0-7, 5 and an undiluted BRIX value between 9-11 %,

The storage-life of the composition 6 in the bottom dispensing package 1 can be calculated by a linear function of the type f(0 ₂ -%) = [a] ^* [t], where [a] is a dispensing package system 100 specific oxygen permeation constant chosen to be between 0,002-0,2 0 ₂ -%/t, preferably between 0,02-0,050 ₂ -%/t, and where [t] is the time lapsed after the bottom dispensing package 1 has been first filled with the composition 6.

The base element 3 is fixed onto a contact surface 13 of the container 2, which can be seen from a joint view on Figure 3 and Figure 4. The base element 3 has a circumferentially closed first contact surface 13 with the container 2, and the container 2 has a circumferentially closed second contact surface 24 with the base element 3.

The shelf-life of the composition 6 in a packaging system 100 can be calculated, especially by a computer-programme-product running on a microprocessor, comprising the following steps:

* Providing a bottom dispensing package 1 for a flowable composition 6, comprising a squeezable container 2 for housing the flowable composition 6, • Filling the composition 6 into the bottom dispensing package 1 whereby the composition 6 is characterised at the time of its initial filling into the bottom dispensing package 1 by a Hunter-Color-Space L,a,b with L between 35-45, a between 20-25, b between 10-20, a pH-value between 3, 5-4, 5, a viscosity between 4, 0-9,0, preferably between 5, 0-7, 5 and an undiluted BRIX value between 9-11 %,

* Closing of the container 2 with a base element 3 that is fixed to the container

2,

• whereby the base element 3 comprises an orifice 4 whereby the orifice 4 is placed in the direction of gravity beneath the container 2 when the dispensing package 1 is placed in its head-stand position on the base element 3,

• whereby the base element 3 further comprises a closure 7 connected to the base element 3 and the closure 7 can be moved back and forth between a closed position 9 in which the closure 7 closes the orifice 4 and an open position 10 in which the composition 6 can be released through the orifice 4,

• whereby the base element 3 has a first contact surface 13 with the container 2, and/or the container 2 has a second contact surface 24 with the base element 3,

• the base element 3 further comprises a slit-valve 5 fixed to the orifice 4, which is especially configurated to prevent the composition 6 to pass the slit-valve 5 as long as the container 2 is not squeezed by a user and calculating the storage-life of the composition 6 in the bottom dispensing package 1 by a linear function of the type f0 ₂ -% = [a] * [t], where [a] is a dispensing package system 100 specific oxygen permeation constant chosen to be between 0,002-0,2 0 ₂ -%/t, preferably between 0,02-

0,050 ₂ -%/t, where [t] is the time lapsed after the bottom dispensing package 1 has been first filled with the composition 6.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments shown in the figures. The above description is therefore not to be regarded as restrictive, but as explanatory. The following patent claims are to be understood in such a way that a named feature is present in at least one form of implementation of the invention. This does not exclude the presence of further features. If the patent claims and the above description define 'first' and 'second' features, this indication serves to distinguish two features of the same kind without establishing an order of priority.

References

1 bottom dispensing package

2 contsainer 3 base element

4 orifice

5 slit-valve

6 flowable composition

7 closure 8 hinge

9 closed position

10 open position

11 tamper evidence indication means 13 contact surface 14 contact surface

15 contact surface

24 contact surface 100 packaging system