Abstract: The present invention includes a method for packaging a flowable food product, in particular cheese. The present invention forms a cheese package having a non-hermetic seal. A continuous moving web made of a heat sealable polymeric material has a non-heat sealable strip secured thereto and oriented in the machine direction. The web is moved in the machine direction while one longitudinal edge portion is placed over the other longitudinal edge portion in an overlapping relationship to form a food tube such that the non-heat sealable strip is disposed between the edge portions. The tube is heat sealed proximate the first longitudinal edge portion and filled with the flowable cheese product. The tube filled with cheese is then flattened. The flattened tube is heat sealed and cut at selected intervals in a transverse direction to form discrete individually packaged food slices.