Background to the Invention Frozen foods are usually packaged in so-called pillow case bags. This type of packaging was chosen for frozen goods for its inherent flexibility which allows it to withstand variations in temperature and therefore volume during its life cycle and for its impermeable properties which attempt to prevent any liquid leaking from the pack. These packs have been found however not to be practical or convenient to use when the products contained in these packs are defrosted. A mixture of liquids and solids is often present which is undesirable in many instances. The consumer will habitually have to separate the solid produce from the liquid produce by using a sieve or other appropriate kitchen utensil. This

unavoidable preparation procedure is unnecessarily time consuming and may even deter certain consumers from using this kind of packaging altogether.

One aim of the present invention is to produce a pack which achieves the separation of solid and liquid produce contained in the pack. The present invention aims to achieve this separation by simple and convenient means.

Whilst the present inventive packs have particular benefits in deep frozen packaging applications, the invention is however not limited to that application and will apply wherever the drainage of liquid from a pack is required. It is also therefore an objective of the present invention to improve the manner in which liquid is drained from any kind of pack.

The present invention presents a number of aspects all forming part of the single inventive concept of improving packs with means to drain out liquid.

Summary of the Invention In a first broad aspect, the invention presents a solids-wrapping pack which when in use is adapted to house a combination of solid and liquid produce, a portion of the pack being sufficiently porous that any liquid produce present in the pack may drain from the pack only when the porous portion is covered and the pack stood thereon, whilst any solid produce present in the pack is retained therein and wherein the pack comprises barrier means which normally seal off the porous portion to prevent any liquid produce from escaping the pack, said barrier means being either sufficiently flexible to be peeled back to expose the porous portion or being so attached to the pack as to slide back to expose the porous portion.

This combination of features is particularly advantageous because it is a particularly simple pack to employ in achieving the separation of the solid from the liquid produce. It avoids particularly the use of sieves or other kitchen

utensils which would be necessary when handling conventional packs. The presentation of the produce is also improved being more appealing to consumers.

The cost of manufacturing the pack will not defer much from conventional packs which will have enhanced benefits for these mass produced goods.

The barrier means defined above are particularly advantageous as the user will seamlessly adapt to their usage as their operation requires simple and natural actions.

In a second broad aspect, there is provided a pack for primarily containing a liquid, comprising a portion sufficiently porous that any liquid produce present in the pack may drain from the pack when the porous portion of the pack is uncovered and the pack stood thereon, and barrier means which normally seal off the porous portion to prevent any liquid produce from escaping the pack, said barrier means being either sufficiently flexible to be peeled back to expose the porous portion or being so attached to the pack as to slide back to expose the porous portion, wherein the pack is inherently flexible.

This combination of feature is particularly advantages because it allows improved drainage to be achieved by the user.

In a subsidiary aspect in accordance with any of the broad preceding aspects, the barrier means initially adheres to the pack surface when in sealing mode.

This configuration is advantageous because it is particularly practical as it permits the barrier means to seal the porous portion while protruding from the pack's wall only to a minimum extent. This would allow a group of packs to be more compactly transported. Another reason why this particular feature is advantageous, is that the barrier means may be removed without the operator tearing the pack's wall or the porous portion which would have the undesirable effect of the solid produce exiting the pack through the porous means.

In a further subsidiary aspect, the barrier means is re-sealably attached to the pack.

This feature renders the pack more versatile. The user of the pack may, for example, having opened the porous means and drained the liquid produce out of the pack, replace the barrier means over the porous means and insert a substitute liquid such as a sauce through another aperture of the pack prior to cooking. The ability of the barrier means to be resealed to the pack will also have the added benefit of the user being able to control the amount of liquid he wishes to extract from the pack if he so wishes.

In a further subsidiary aspect, the barrier means and the pack are inherently flexible.

This configuration will have the added benefit of reducing the likelihood of the user accidentally tearing the pack's wall. Rendering the pack flexible will also enhance the circulation of liquid from the pack.

Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 presents a schematic side elevation of the pack according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the pack according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a barrier means according to a further embodiment of the invention.

Figure 4A shows a schematic plan view of a pack in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention.

Figure 4B shows a schematic of a peel tab according to a further embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description of the Drawings Figure 1 presents a pack generally referenced at 1. This type of pack is a so- called pillow case pack. A combination of two side walls 2, one being in the foreground of the Figure and one being in the background and a bottom wall 3 forms the enclosing portion of the pack. This pack is an inherently flexible pack.

Its edges 33,34, 35,36 and 27 cooperate together in order to allow the pack's walls to bend without any undue resistance from the edges themselves. This kind of inherently flexible pack contrasts with for example a solid tetrahedron pack whose edges are arranged to prevent ready deformation of such a pack's wall.

Such a solid tetrahedron pack is presented in Figure 2.

Figure 4A which will be described hereafter in more detail also represents an inherently flexible pack.

Returning to the description of figure 1, the actual contents of the pack have not been illustrated for clarity, however it is to be understood that this type of pack may be employed with a wide variety of produce. One of the preferred applications for this pack is for containing chilled or frozen food. As this latest type of pack defrosts a considerable quantity of liquid is present in the pack and usually requires being disposed of. As mentioned previously conventional method of separating solid produce and liquid produce is to use a sieve which has the drawbacks detailed in the previous sections. Pack 1 has two perforations 4 and 5 in its wall which are sufficient in size to permit the passage of a liquid while being sufficiently small to prevent any significant

passage of solid produce. In the drawing, there is presented a barrier means 6 which takes the form of a peel tab. The tab has along its inner surface (not shown in the drawing) a layer of suitable adhesive which will be selected by the person skilled in the art from known alternatives. This adhesive will enable the barrier means to adhere to the outer surfaces of the pack while obstructing perforations 4 and 5 in order to prevent any liquid escaping. The invention also envisages and finds particularly advantageous that the adhesive may only cover the section of the barrier means which enters into contact with the outer wall, the portions overlapping the perforations being deprived of any adhesive. A seal may be provided to separate the adhesive means from the contents of the pack. One example of such an arrangement, is illustrated and described with reference to Figure 3.

The barrier means may be configured so as to be entirely removed by simple manual operation for disposal or retained at one end. The invention also foresees that the barrier means may be re-sealably attached to the pack which will enable greater versatility in its use.

The pack of the present invention may also present as shown in the drawing a notch 7 and a tear line 8 extending across the width of the pack and enabling the user of the pack to access the pack when required.

The materials used for the pack and the barrier means may be selected from known alternatives by the person skilled in the art. The pack may be constructed with a flexible plastic.

Figure 2 presents a second embodiment of the present invention. A rigid pack 9 is illustrated, wall 10 of which is the under side of the pack. In this embodiment, a sliding window 11 acts as the barrier means which selectively seals off the contents of the pack or releases only its liquid produce. Sliding window 11 may

be produced in several different ways. This particular construction incorporates a rubber (or material with similar properties) seal 12 extending about the periphery of the window 11. The seal 12 is constrained against the outer surface of the wall of the container around an array of perforations 13 by a pair of sliding guides 14 and 15 extending along to opposite sides of the window. In this construction, the window may be opened to a variety of degrees selected by the user.

Figure 3 shows a barrier means 16 of a particularly advantageous configuration.

Barrier means 16 incorporates two annular projections 17 and 18 and an adhesive surface 19 around these projections. The surfaces 20 and 21 located within these annular projections are deprived of any adhesive means. These annular projections correspond precisely to perforations 4 and 5 described with reference to Figure 1. The presence of these projections facilitates the location of the label onto the pack and protects the contents of the food from any possible contamination from the adhesive.

Figure 4A shows a pack generally referenced 22 with a porous portion 23 covered by a peel tab 24. Peel tab 24 has a circular portion 25 covering the porous portion 23. The diameter of the circular portion 25 is three times the diameter of the porous portion 23. The peel tab 24 also incorporates an elongate portion 26 which may be adapted to adhere to the pack to a lesser extent than circular portion 25 of the peel tab. This would allow the straightforward peeling of the tab.

Porous portion 23 incorporates a tear line 27 which would cause a disc of the pack's wall to tear away as the peel tab is peeled back. This is particularly advantageous because it limits or does away completely with any possibility of cross contamination between the tab's adhesive and the contents of the pack.

Figure 4B shows a further embodiment of a suitable peel tab 28. In the Figure, the portions 29,30 and 31 are hatched to show the areas where adhesive would be used to attach the peel tab to any appropriate pack. Portions 29 and 31 extend past portion 30 and define a portion 32 deprived of any adhesive. This peel tab construction has the advantage of not being easily restickable should a customer peel back the tab whilst tampering with the pack.