Abstract: Apparatus for packing commodities such as meat or bacon into bags of flexible thermoplastics film material comprises a vacuum chamber and sealing means arranged to hold closely together without application of pressure a band of bag material extending across the neck of the bag and applying heat to fuse the band of bag material and form a fluid tight seal. The vacuum chamber may include heating means so that after sealing the bag may be inflated off the commodity and thereby heated prior to collapse into close engagement with the commodity.

Abstract: The invention concerns the packaging of commodities into vacuum-sealed packs formed from sheet plastics packaging material. In accordance with this invention, the packaging material is formed from a two-layer laminate the inside layer of which has a much lower softening point than the outside layer. The commodity is sandwiched between two sheets of the packaging material and is passed to a vacuum chamber in which it is sealed between the two sheets under reduced pressure. Simultaneously the material is heated to a temperature at which the inner laminate softens, and when the chamber is aerated, the heated material collapses around the commodity and the inner layers fuse together around the margins to form a highly effective hermetic seal around the commodity.

Abstract: A process for packaging bulk commodities such as meat comprises vacuum sealing the commodity into a bag of plastics material and then causing the material of the bag to expand by a further reduction in pressure of the environment surrounding the bag. The material expands into contact with heaters which heat the material and when the environment surrounding the bag is returned to normal pressure, the material closely encloses the commodity.

Abstract: A process for packaging bulk commodities such as meat comprises vacuum sealing the commodity into a bag of plastics material and then causing the material of the bag to expand by a further reduction in pressure of the environment surrounding the bag. The material expands into contact with heaters which heat the material and when the environment surrounding the bag is returned to normal pressure, the material closely encloses the commodity.