Bag-in-box

thumb|A bladder pack and a complete bag-in-box

thumb|Several bag-in-box containers (here, containing [[Fountain drink|soft drink syrup), connected to a fountain drink system]]

thumb|upright|Filling machinery

A bag-in-box or BiB is a container for the storage and transportation of liquids. It consists of a strong bladder (or plastic bag), usually made of several layers of metallised film or other plastics, seated inside a corrugated fiberboard box.

Features

The bag is supplied to the company which will fill it as an empty pre-made bag. The company filling the bag with its product generally removes the tap, fills the bag (with wine, juice or other liquid) and replaces the tap and then the bag is placed in the box.

The bags are available as singles for semi-automatic machines or as web bags, where the bags have perforations between each one. These are used on automated filling systems where the bag is separated on line either before the bag is automatically filled or after. Depending on the end use, there are a number of options that can be used on the bag instead of the tap. The bags can be filled from chilled product temperatures up to .

BiB packaging can be made using form fill seal (FFS) technology, where the bags are manufactured on-line from reels of film, then the FlexTap is inserted then filled on an integral rotary head filler. The BiB is currently used to package wine, soda fountain syrup products, milk, liquid chemicals, and water.

History

The first commercial BiB system was invented by American chemist William R. Scholle in 1955 for the safe transportation and dispensing of battery acid.

Uses

BiB has many common commercial applications. Among the most common ones are to supply syrup to soft drink fountains and to dispense bulk supplied condiments such as ketchup or mustard in the foodservice industry (especially in fast food outlets).

Wine cask

thumb|A 4-litre cask of Australian white wine

The 'wine cask' was invented by Thomas Angove (1918–2010) of Angove's, a winemaker from Renmark, South Australia, and patented by the company on April 20, 1964. Polyethylene bladders of 1imperial gallon (4.55litres) were put into corrugated boxes for sale to consumers. An original design required that the consumer cut the corner off the bladder inside the box, pour out the desired quantity of wine and then reseal it with a special peg.

In 1967, Charles Malpas and Penfolds Wines patented a plastic, air-tight tap welded into an aluminised film bladder, making storage much more convenient for consumers.

Aseptic packaging

thumb|Box of milk being placed in dispenser

BiB is also used extensively in the packaging of processed fruit and dairy products in aseptic processes. Using aseptic packaging equipment, products can be packed in aseptic packaging. Pasteurized or UHT treated products packed into this format can be "shelf-stable", requiring no refrigeration. Some products can have a shelf life of up to 2 years, depending on the type of bag that is used.

The key to this unique system is that the product being filled is not exposed to the external environment at any stage during the process and as such, there is no possibility of a bacterial load being added to the product during the filling process. To ensure there is no contamination from the packaging, the bag is irradiated after the bag manufacturing process.

These packs are typically from 10 to 1200 liters and offer the advantage of cheap, disposable and transport efficient packaging.

Notes

References

Second edition (1999) at the Internet Archive.