THREE-YEAR SHELF LIFE, HIGH BARRIER FOOD CONTAINER

WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP POLYMERIC SUBSTRATES THAT CAN BE FABRICATED INTO CONTAINERS FOR THERMOSTABILIZED MEAL TRAY (TMT) RATIONS WHICH PROVIDE A THREE-YEAR SHELF LIFE. THESE POLYMERIC TMTS WILL PROVIDE THE MILITARY WITH A NEW CLASS OF SINGLE SERVING THERMOPROCESSED FOOD CONTAINERS. IN ADDITION, THESE POLYMERIC SUBSTRATES WILL ALSO PROVIDE THE MILITARY WITH AN ALTERNATIVE MATERIAL FOR THE EXISTING EPOXY LINED STEEL HALF STEAM TABLE TRAY PACKS THAT SERVE 12 TO 18 PEOPLE. THE USE OF PREFERRED MATERIALS SUCH AS PLASTICS COMBINED WITH A MORE CONVENIENT INDIVIDUAL SERVING PACKAGE SIZE WILL ENSURE THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS A LARGER INDUSTRIAL BASE FOR PROCURING REDUCED COST THERMOPROCESSABLE FOOD CONTAINERS. LIQUID CRYSTAL POLYMERS (LCP) ARE A NEW CLASS OF MATERIALS THAT CAN BE PROCESSED INTO THIN FILMS THAT EXHIBIT OUTSTANDING BARRIER PROPERTIES AND HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO EXTEND SHELF LIFE TO THREE YEARS. IN THIS PHASE I PROGRAM WE WILL USE OUR PROPRIETARY EXTRUSION TECHNOLOGY TO PRODUCE LCP FILMS THAT HAVE BARRIER PROPERTIES THAT ARE 1 TO 3 ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE SUPERIOR THAN TODAY'S BEST COMMODITY BARRIER FILMS SUCH AS PVDC, PAN AND EVOH. THE BARRIER PROPERTIES FOR OUR BIAXIALLY ORIENTED LCP SUBSTRATES ARE AS FOLLOWS: OXYGEN - 0.008 CC-ML/ 100 IN.SQ-DAY-ATM, WATER VAPOR - 0.0036 GM-ML/LOO IN.SQ-DAY-ATM. OUR LCP FILMS ALSO ARE MICROWAVE COMPATIBLE, FDA APPROVED, CHEMICALLY INERT, RETORTABLE, MECHANICALLY STRONG, AND ARE READILY FORMED INTO MULTI-PLY LAMINATES THAT CAN BE THERMOFORMED AND THERMALLY SEALED. WE WILL PRODUCE LCP BARRIER LAMINATES THAT CAN BE EVALUATED FOR OXYGEN AND WATER VAPOR PERMEABILITY, AND SEALABILITY. A PREDICTION OF THE ANTICIPATED SHELF LIFE ALSO WILL BE DEVELOPED USING INDUSTRY DATA AND MEASURED SUBSTRATE PERMEABILITIES.