Abstract: A vertical form, fill and seal machine includes a pair of reciprocating jaws, located below the product delivery conduit of the machine. The jaws are spaced apart to permit the film tube coming off the product delivery conduit and having a back seal to pass between the jaws after the film tube separates from the product delivery conduit. One of the reciprocating jaws has a toothed blade with a leading edge of the toothed blade extending beyond a leading edge of the one jaw. When the pair of jaws closes, teeth of the blade cut a transversely extending series of perforations adjacent to a transverse seal and cut a transverse opening at an area of the back seal. Accordingly, the machine outputs a continuous string of connected sealed packages having a transversely extending perforation between adjacent packages and having a cut out in the back seal area.

Abstract: Disclosed are unique resealable packages for snacks. Some embodiments comprise rigid sidewalls configured to structurally support a flexible bag to maintain the thickness of the bag as it is laid on its back and opened for product consumption. In addition, disclosed packages include a resealable flexible flap having a raised pull tab for use by a consumer to peel open the bag by separating this flap from the front of the bag, and then resealing the bag by laying the flap back over the opening. The rigid sidewalls allow the integrity of the product to be maintained after the bag is resealed so that the product is not crushed if the bag is stored for later use. Edges of the peelable flap are coated with a resealable adhesive, while one side or end of the flap is connected to a portion of the bag's front surface.