US3268345A - Tell-tale devices containing pasty fermentable body for refrigerated package goods - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 23, 1966 K JR 3,268,345

TELL-TALE DEVICES CONTAINING PASTY FERMENTABLE BODY FOR REFRIGERATED PACKAGE GOODS Filed March 30, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 TATE. 131-4- 17 2/ 22 /6 12 174 a INVENTOR.

MEREITT T KENNEDQJR HTTOENEV Aug. 23, 1966 M. 'r. KENNEDY, JR 3,268,345

TELL-TALE DEVICES CONTAINING PASTY FERMENTABLE BODY FOR REFRIGERATED PACKAGE GOODS Filed March 30, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I NVENTOR.

MEERITT T KENNEDY, JR.

QTTOENEY United States Patent TELL-TALE DEVICES CONTAINING PASTY FERMENTABLE BODY FOR REFRIGERATED PACKAGE GOODS Merritt T. Kennedy, Jr., 16 Winthrop Road, Port Washington, N.Y. Filed Mar. 30, 1962. Ser. No. 183,908 9 Claims. (Cl. 99-192) The present invention relates to tell-tale devices for indicating any dangerous interruption in the refrigerated status of package goods required to be refrigerated.

There are certain packaged goods such as frozen foods, which are required to be maintained at low temperatures until ready for consumption or use. Very often, as for example, by accident, the goods lose their refrigeration and their temperature goes up above the safety level. In the case of frozen foods kept in freezers, the freezer may accidentally go off, thereby increasing the temperatures of the foods to the point where they spoil or deteriorate. Upon restoration of the proper refrigeration in the freezer, the foods will be refrozen but the purchaser will not be aware of any interruption in the frozen preservation status of the foods before purchase. As a result, he may be unwittingly buying and consuming spoiled food.

Tell-tale devices have hitherto been proposed for indicating any interruption in the refrigerated status of frozen packaged food, but these have been comparatively expensive and have involved the use of chemical, physical, or mechanical methods involving no causative relationship between the biological conditions that initiate the putrefaction or decomposition of the packaged goods under elevated temperatures and the conidtions that would cause tell-tale reaction of the tell-tale device. Moreover, in these prior devices, the responses of the tell-tale devices cannot be controlled for delayed action to conform with the time required to initiate dangerous decomposition or putrefaction of the refrigerated goods. For example, a package may be removed from a refrigerated environment for a period too short to have any dangerous effect on the packaged goods, while the tell-tale device would be immediately responsive to the increase in temperature, thereby rendering the package unsaleable.

One object of the present invention is to provide in connection with refrigerated goods, new and improved telltale means for indicating any dangerous interruption in their refrigerated status.

In accordance with the present invention, the tell-tale device attached to the package to be brought, consists essentially of a living growth microorganism having the property of developing indicatively by germination or fermentation in an environment similar to that which would favor the growth of bacteria in the food or other goods packaged and which would cause deterioration and spoilage of said goods. A desirable biological product for the purpose is yeast. For tell-tale purposes, this yeast would be mixed with a fermentable body to produce under adverse temperature conditions, a gas, the pressure of which is employed to give tell-tale indications. As far as certain aspects of the invention are concerned, the fermentable body may take any form, but is desirably in pasty or plastic form. Advantageously, the fermentable pasty or plastic body would be a dough consisting essentially of a mixture of water and flour and consequently containing starch and sugar. The yeast under proper conditions ferments the flour sugars already existing together with the maltose produced by the action of the diastase of the flour on the starch. The resulting fermentation produces alcohol and carbon dioxide which aerates and distends the gluten structure and causes the dough to expand. The rate at which the dough expands or is fer ice men-ted depends upon several factors, such as the temperature and the amount of salt or sugar present, so that by varying such factors, it is possible to hold the fermentation process under control. At low refrigeration temperature at which the packaged goods must be preserved, the yeast fermentation action is suspended. At higher temperatures at which the packaged contents will spoil, the yeast is activated to the point where the pasty mass is aerated and distended and the increase in volume resulting from the fermentation of the mass serves as an indication that the contents of the package has been removed from the refrigerated environment long enough to initiate spoilage. The time required to create fermentation in the pasty mass sufficient to make such fermentation indicatively apparent can be adjusted by the addition of sugar which accelerates the action, by the addition of salt which inhibits the action or by the addition of any other control agents, accelerators or inhibitors to conform with the time required for a refrigerated package to spoil after the package has been removed from its required refrigerated environment. It is possible, therefore, to prevent premature distention of the pasty or doughy indicator mass in packages which have not been removed from a refrigerated environment for a sufficiently long period to have become spoiled.

With the indicator described, once the pasty or doughy mass has been distended by placing it in an environment of higher temperature, this mass will not return to its original volume but will retain substantially its distended form. Therefore, once a package to which the indicator has been applied has been defrosted sufficiently to cause spoilage, the return of the package to a refrigerated environment will not destroy the tell-tale evidence.

Dough is desirably employed as the fermentable pasty body, especially in connection with food products, since it contains starch which is converted into sugar and sugar as an inherent part of its structure, and since it is not toxic or otherwise contaminative and therefore is safe to use in connection with food products. However, as far as certain aspects of the invention are concerned, other fermentable pasty bodies may be employed, as long as they remain in a plastic state at elevated temperatures at which the yeast is active. For example, the pasty body may be any coherent plastic mass rendered fermentable by the addition of any substance, such as sugar, susceptible to the fermenting action of the yeast.

A number of batches of pasty dough were made by mixing together in different proportions, flour, water, Bakers yeast (special strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and a red vegeable dye for coloration. Also sugar was added to different batches in different proportions for control.

The effectiveness of different mixes as tell-tale devices was tested by filling a number of clear or transparent plastic rigid tubes having a length of 2 /2", an outside diameter of fi and an inside diameter of ,4, with dough from the different batches respectively for a length of 1%" from one end, leaving a clear unfilled portion of A," in the tube extending to the other end. Both ends of the tube were then sealed and a small hole was made in the seal of the clear end of each tube to vent the carbon dioxide gas to be generated by the fermenting yeast. The tubes containing the dough were then frozen to prevent premature fermentation and these tubes were inserted into a variety of frozen food packages, which had been taken out of a frozen compartment having a temperature of 16 F. The tubes were applied to the package so that the filled portions extended into the interior of the package and the unfilled portions extended outside of the packages. The packages were then returned to the frozen compartment and removed for intervals to a room with an ambient temperature of It was found that the speed with which the package defrosted depended somewhat upon the product stored therein. For example, loosely packed vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower and peas defrosted somewhat faster than mashed squash, mashed potatoes and other firmly packed products. It was also found that the speed with which the indicator dough was activated depended to a certain extent upon whether it was inserted in the package near the carton wall or near the center of the food, those near the center responding somewhat more slowly, because the temperature in the center rose more slowly.

Also, it was found that the different mixtures responded at dilferent speeds, the mixtures of low viscosity or those to which sugar had been added expanded more quickly with rising temperature than those with heavy viscosity and with no sugar added.

It was determined that a viscous dough having the following specific formulation was particularly acceptable and suitable as a tell-tale indicator:

Teaspoonfuls Bakers yeast 1 Teaspoonful sugar /2 Teaspoonful red vegetable dye ,6 Teaspoonfuls flour 17 Fluid ounces of Water 5 The tests on transparent tubes filled with the dough having the specific formulation described above produced the following results when inserted into the middle of a package containing frozen mashed squash.

Elapsed Time After Transfer from Freezer to Room Temperature at 72, minutes Expansion of dough along tube (in inches) Interior Package Temp, degrees These test results indicate that the package at an initial low temperature below the freezing point can be exposed to room temperatures of about 7'2 F. for long periods of time before the interior of the package begins to rise above the freezing critical temperature and that when the temperature in the interior of the package starts to rise above 31 P. which is close to the critical temperature at which putrefaction starts to set in, the dough begins to expand. A rise, for example, of 3 above 31 F., during a period of 45 minutes will cause the dough to expand A3" in the test tube. The period of 45 minutes normally permits the handling of the packaged goods during transfer or loading operations. The absence of refrigeration beyond that period would cause rapid and dangerous bacteria growth in the food product which would be indicated by the rapid expansion of the dough beyond its safe indicative level.

Similar tests were carried out with test tubes containing the dough having the specific formulation described above and embedded in a frozen package containing Elapsed Time Alter Transfer from Freezer to Room Temperature at 72", minutes Expansion of dough along tube (in inches) Interior Package Temp, degrees The results of the above tests indicate that with loosely packaged vegetables or other food products, the indicator dough is more quickly responsive, effecting a great rate of expansion for any increase in temperature.

At certain intervals during the tests indicated above, some packages which had been out of the frozen compartment long enough to cause visible expansion of the dough were returned to the frozen compartment. The expansion of the dough stopped at the expanded point before being refrozen without suffering retrogressi'on. Upon repeating the process, the expansion continued in the normal fashion after the temperature reached the neighborhood of 32 F., this expansion being superinposed on the previous expansion.

It was found, as a result of the tests indicated, that too much water should not be added to the mixture since this produces a dough of low viscosity and tends to produce a rising foam in the tube rather than a reliable solid line, such as that of red mercury in a thermometer. Moreover, the dough should be viscous enough so that it will not be deformed beyond its original form while it is being handled and transported in properly refrigerated conditions.

It was also determined from these tests that the addition of more sugar tends to increase the expansion rate of the dough and the reduction or elimination of sugar reduces the expansion rate. Also, the salt inhibits the expansion of the dough.

The specific formulation of the fermentable pasty mass containing the yeast depends on the character of the goods to be protected, the critical temperature at which the goods can be safely maintained, the character of the packaging, such as the extent of insulation afforded the goods by the packaging, and the time required for the goods to decompose to an unsafe extent after being deprived of its refrigeration. However, once having determined the conditions to be met, it is an easy matter to compound the necessary formulation to meet these conditions. Once the appropriate formulation has been devised, there will be assurance that uniform expected performance of the ferementable dough will be maintained under the conditions for which the dough was devised.

In the application of the invention to a refrigerated package, the fermentable pasty mass with the fermenting agent incorporated therein is enclosed in a container attached to the package. As far as certain aspects of the invention are concerned, the container for the fermentable pasty mass containing the fermenting agent may take any suitable form as long as it has a window or is constructed to permit visible observation of the expansion. The telltale device should be located on the packaged goods so that it can be observed from the outside of the package without opening the package. 7

Also, as far as certain aspects of the invention are concerned, the fermentable body may be in solid porous form or may be in liquid form, and the pressure of the gases generated by fermentation may be employed to give telltale indications, as for example, by pressure action on a. diaphragm or piston.

1. The manner in which the tell-tale device of the present invention may be applied to a frozen package is described in the following description and is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective of a refrigerated package, which contains a tell-tale device constituting one embodiment of the present invention and which is shown with an outer transparent wrapper, this wrapper being shown broken away to expose part of the tell-tale device;

FIG. 2 is a center section through the tell-tale device of FIG. 1 and shows said device in connection with the carton of the package but without the outer transparent FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the tell-tale device of FIG. 1 shown in connection with the carton of the package but without the outer transparent wrapper;

FIG. 4 is a center section through a tell-tale device constituting another embodiment of the present invention and shows said device in connection with the carton of the package but without the outer transparent wrapper;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the tell-tale device of FIG. 4 shown in connection with the carton of the package but without the outer transparent wrapper;

FIG. 6 is a center section through a tell-tale device constituting still another embodiment of the present invention and shows said device in connection with the carton of the package but without the outer transparent wrapper;

FIG. 7 is a center section through a tell-tale device constituting a still further embodiment of the present invention and shows said section in connection with the carton of the package but without the outer transparent wrapper; and

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of a tell-tale device of FIG. 7 and shows said device in connection with the carton of the package but without the outer transparent wrapper.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, there is shown a refrigerated food package including a carton or enclosure 10 for the food, and an outer transparent wrapper 11 made of any suitable material, such as cellophane. Secured to the outside of the carton 10 is the tell-tale device 12, comprising a fermentable pasty body 13 containing a fermentable agent and enclosed in a container 14. The body 13 desirably is a dough containing yeast and may have the specific formulation described above in the specific example.

The carton 10 has a circular hole 15 to form a window opening for the carton and the container 14 includes a circular shallow cup or dish 16 made of suitable material, such as plastic, as for example, polyethylene, and a closure cap 17 therefor, which has a friction fit with said cup and which may be provided with a vent hole 18. This closure cap 17 is made of transparent material, such as polyethylene or any other suitable plastic to form a window for the carton hole 15. The cup 16 is formed with a center cavity 20 of circular cross-section to receive the fermentable pasty body 13 and an annular ledge 21 around said cavity over which the pasty body will overflow radially outwardly when the body is distended by fermentation. The closure 17 has a center boss 22 of circular cross-section in the inside thereof directly over the cavity 20 but spaced therefrom, and has a diameter substantially coextensive with the diameter of the cavity. The lower end of the boss 22 is covered with an opaque coating 23 of masking material, such as an adhesive tape, or a coating of painting, to conceal from view the pasty body 13 which is colored, as for example, red by the vegetable dye therein, in accordance with the formulation set forth above. This coating 23 would have a color or hue other than that of the pasty body 13, and desirably would have either a black or blue color, or some other color other than red, contrasting strongly with red.

In order that the container 14 may be secured to the carton 10, the cup 16 tapers for easy entry into the carton hole 15 and has a peripheral groove 25 serving as a catch or lock recess for the edge of the carton wall around said hole. The carton It) has a certain amount of resiliency, and the cup 16, although having a maximum diameter greater than that of the hole 15 can be pushed into the hole until the edges of the carton around the hole snap into the groove 25. In locked position, the tell-tale device 12 will be in direct contact with the refrigerated product in the inside of the package.

In the application of the tell-tale device to the package, the package is frozen to the desired temperature, the cavity 29 in the cup 16 is filled. with the red-dyed fermenta-ble pasty body 13 at low temperature, substantially up to the level of the ledge 21, the closure cap 17 is fitted over the cup and the assembly is inserted and latched into the carton hole 15 in the manner described. The package with the tell-tale device 12 attached thereto is placed in a refrigerated compartment. The procedure followed may, of course, be varied, as long as the pasty body 13 is at a sufficiently low temperature to be in fermentatively inactive form when applied as part of the tell tale device 12 to the package, and as long as said pasty body remains in inactive form until the package is refrigerated to its fully frozen condition.

As long as the package is refrigerated and at a safe temperature, and as long as its refrigerated status is not interrupted for any period of time sufiicient to effect decomposition of the packaged product, the tell-tale device 12 which is visible through the transparent outer wrapper 11 appears as shown in FIG. 3, with a center circular spot 26, which for example, can be blue resulting from the opaque mask coating 23. The red pasty dough 13 would not be visible through the outside of the package.

If the package should be taken out of its refrigerated environment or if its refrigerated status should 'be otherwise interrupted for a period long enough to cause the resulting rising temperature to initiate bacterial decomposition of the packaged goods, the pasty body 13 will start to ferment under the action of the yeast therein, causing said body to expand and the expanded body to overflow the cavity 20. As this pasty body expands, it flows along the annular ledge 21 and radially outwardly beyond the boundaries of the masking coating 23, and this expansion will be visible through the thin transparent walls of the closure cap 17 as a red ring surrounding the center spot 26 of contrasting color. A buyer noting this red ring on the tell-tale device will immediately be aware of the fact that the refrigerated status of the package has been dangerously interrupted and that the contents of the package may be spoiled.

Once the covered pasty body has fermented to the stage where it overflows the cavity 2% and becomes visible, return of the package to a refrigerated status will not cause retrogression in the pasty body, so that the tell-tale evidence will remain.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show a modified form of tell-tale device 12a which is adapted to be embedded into the goods packaged so that it will be directly thermally responsive to the temperature conditions in the interior of the goods. In this embodiment of the invention, the refrigerated food package includes a carton -or box 10a for the food and an outer transparent wrapper (not shown) made of any suitable material, such as cellophane. Secured to the outside of the carton 10a is the tell-tale device 12a comprising a fermenta'ble pasty body 13a with a fermenting agent housed in a container 14a. The pasty body 134: is desirably a dough containing yeast and having the composition described in the specific formulation above.

The carton 10a has a circular hole 15a to form a Window opening for the carton and the container 14a includes a circular cup 16a made of suitable material, such as plastic, as for example, polyethylene, and a closure cap 17a, therefor having a friction fit with said cap and provided with a vent hole 18a. This closure cap 17a is made of transparent material, such as polyethylene or any other suitable plastic to form a window for the carton hole 15a.

The cup 16a tapers to a point at its end so that when it is pushed into the packaged goods, it will penetrate the interior thereof and is long enough so that it will reach any desired part of the goods. For example, if it is desired to make the tell-tale device 12a directly responsive to the temperature conditions in the center of the goods, the cup will be long enough so that the end thereof will reach the region of this center.

The cup 14a is provided with a hollow or cavity 20a of circular cross-section to receive the fermentable pasty body 13a and has a fiat circular head 30 defining an annula-r ledge 21a around the mouth of the cavity 20a and an upstanding rim flange 31 adapted to be frictionally gripped by the closure cap 17a.

In order to mask the red pasty body 13a during normal conditions when the package is in proper refrigerated. state, there is provided on the inside of the closure cap 17a in the center thereof a circular opaque coating 23a of masking material, such as an adhesive tape or a coating of paint located directly over the mouth of the cavity 20a so as to cover the pasty body therein and having a diameter substantially coextensive with the diameter of the mouth of said cavity so that the pasty body 13a will not be visible under normal refrigerated conditions. This coating 23a would have a color or hue other than that of the pasty body 13a which is red and desirably would be either black or blue in color.

In order that the container 14a may be secured to the carton a, the cup 16a has a peripheral groove 25a se-rving as a catch or lock recess for the edge of the carton wall around the carton hole a. The carton 10a has resiliency and although the section of the cup 16a below the head 30 has a maximum outside diameter greater than that of the hole 15a, the cup can be pushed into the hole until the edges of the carton wall around. the hole snap into the groove a and the head of the cup seats on the top of the carton.

The closed container 16a filled up to the level of the ledges 21a with red-dyed fermentable dough 13a containing yeast, is applied to the package to cause said container to penetrate the food or other goods in the carton 10a in the manner shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The closed container 16a is applied to the package under thermal conditions to maintain the yeast inactive and therefore to maintain the level of the pasty body or dough 13a below the level of the ledges 21a, as long as the refrigerated status of the package has not been interrupted long enough to create dangerous bacterial conditions in the package, assuming that the contents of the package is food. Under these normal refrigerated conditions, the tell-tale device will appear as shown in FIG. 5 with a dark center spot 26a of blue, black or other color other than red, where the mask coating 23a overlies the red pasty body 13a without any visible indication of said body. If the refrigeration of the package is interrupted long enough, the pasty body 13a, under the fermenting action of the yeast 'will expand and overflow onto the ledge 21a, causing said body to spread outwardly beyond the border of the mask coating 23a and to appear from the outside of the package as a red ring around the coating 23a. This red ring will render tell-tale evidence that the temperature of the package has been raised above the critical point for a sufficient period to render the package unsuitable.

FIG. 6 shows a tell-tale device somewhat similar to that of FIGS. 4 and 5 and adapted for embedment into the packaged goods. For easy penetration into the packaged goods, the tell-t-ale device includes a container 14b comprising a comparatively long slender cup 16b cylindrical in shape except for an end section tapering to a penetrating point to permit this cup to extend to the center of the goods in the package and even further, if desired. The cup 16b terminates at its upper end in fiat circular head 30b defining an annular ledge 21b around the mouth of a cylindrical cavity 20b in said cup holding the fermentable pasty body or dough 1312 containing yeast in accordance with the formulation described above. A closure cap 17b of transparent material, desirably plastic and having a vent hole 1*8b, fits frictionally over the head 30b of the container cup 1612 and has on its inside surface directly over the mouth of the cavity 20b of the cup a mask coating 23!; of a color contrasting with that of the pasty body 13b.

The tell-tale device 12b does not have the lock latching recess corresponding to the recess 23a in the construction of FIGS. 4 and S, but the goods packaged may be so firm and the cup 16a penetrating therein may be so long, that the friction would assure its retention in place. In all other respects, the tell-tale device 1215 is similar to the tell-tale device lQa of FIGS. 4 and 5 except as otherwise noted, and operates in a similar way.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show a modification in which the tell-tale device is of generally flat rectangular shape and is oifset to permit part thereof to extend inside the carton along a wall thereof in contact with the refrigerated food or other product to be sensed, and another part extending on the outside of the carton to serve as an indicator for visible observation. In the construction of FIGS. 7 and 8, the carton or box 100 desirably has an outer transparent wrapper, such as cellophane (not shown) and an opening to receive the tell-tale device 120. The telltale device 12 includes a container 140 comprising a hat shallow dished or cupped member olfset intermediate its ends to provide an inner section 35 serving as a receptacle to hold a fermentable mass of dough or pasty body 130 of the characater described in connection 'with the other embodiments of the invention and an outer end section '36 defining a ledge 37 connected to the bottom wall of the inner container section 35 by an oblique offsetting wall 38. A transparent cap 17c having a vent hole is friction-ally retained on the dished container member 160 to serve as a closure for said container member.

The container member 160 has a lock latching recess 25c along a part thereof for snap locking engagement with one edge of the carton 100 along one side of the carton opening 15s when the tell-tale device 12c is attached to the carton.

In the operation of the tell-tale device 120, the colored pasty body 130 fills the inner section 35 of the container 140 extending along the inner surface of the carton Wall in contact with the food or other product packaged up to the oblique olfsetting wall 38, and while proper refri eration conditions prev-ail, this body remains out of view behind the carton wall. When the temperature of the package rises sufficiently and for a long enough period to cause the pasty body to ferment and expand, it will overflow along the oblique wall 38 and eventually over the ledge 37, the overflow being visible through the transparent closure cap 174:, and giving indications thereby that the refrigeration of the package has been dangerously interrupted.

In the above description, the fermentable body has been referred to as being pasty or plastic. It may be, that under the low temperatures employed during refrigerated storage, this body may have become hardened. However, when the temperature is elevated to the point where fermentation takes place, this body must turn pasty or plastic, if it is to become distended. In the following claims, the fermentable body is referred to as being in plastic, form even though during refrigeration it may be hard, if the body assumes plastic form above critical decomposing temperature.

In all of the forms of the invention illustrated, the transparent closure cap through 'which the distension of the pasty fermented body can be observed, may have graduations, to measure the degree of distension.

While the invention has been described with particular reference to specific embodiments, it is to be understood that it is not to be limited thereto but is to be construed broadly and restricted solely by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A tell-tale device for combination with a refrigerated package for indicating undesirable interruptions in the refrigerated status of said package irrespective of any subsequent resumption of said status, said tell-tale device comprising a container having on the inside a ledge, a cover for said container having an opaque portion and a transparent portion, and a pasty fermentable body containing a fermenting agent and enclosed in said container and cover, said ledge being visible through the transparent portion of said cover, and said pasty fermentable body being concealed from view by the opaque portion of said cover under normal refrigerated temperature of the package, whereby at temperatures above said normal refrigerated temperature of the package, the fermenting agent creates gas, thereby causing the pasty fermentable body to expand beyond the opaque portion of the cover and flow over the inside ledge of the container to afford telltale indications through the transparent portion of the cover that the refrigerated status of the package has been interrupted to an unsuitable extent.

2. A refrigerated package containing a refrigerated product inside an enclosure and a tell-tale device on said package forming a unit therewith for indicating undesirable interruptions in the refrigerated status of said package irrespective of any subsequent resumption of said status, said tell-tale device comprising a container, a portion of which is filled with a fermentable pasty body and a fermenting agent carried by said body and having the property of creating gas at high temperatures above the normal refrigerated temperature of the package and of causing thereby said body to be distended into the unfilled portion of said container, said container having a cover, a section of which extending over the unfilled portion of the container is transparent to permit visible observation of the body distention in said unfilled portion, said tell-tale device extending through a hole in a wall of the package enclo sure with said filled portion of the container extending into the interior of the package and the unfilled portion of said container extending on the outside of said package so as to be visible from the outside of the package.

3. A refrigerated package as described in claim 2, wherein said refrigerated product is a food product, the pasty body contains sugar, and said fermenting agent is yeast.

4. A refrigerated package as described in claim 2, wherein said filled portion of the container extends into contact with the outside of the refrigerated product inside the package enclosure.

5. A refrigerated package as described in claim 2, wherein said filled portion of the container extends and penetrates into the refrigerated product inside the package enclosure.

6. A refrigerated package as described in claim 2, said cover being transparent except for an opaque section over the pasty body normally masking said body from View, said container having an interior ledge adjoining the area containing said pasty body extending outwardly beyond the masked area, said pasty body overflowing said ledge upon fermentation of said body, causing the distention of said body to be visible through said cover beyond the masking opaque section of the cover.

7. A refrigerated package as described in claim 2, said cover being transparent except for a circular opaque section over the pasty body normally masking said body from view, said container having an interior annular ledge surrounding the area containing said pasty body, said pasty body overflowing said ledge upon fermentation of said body, causing the distention of said body to be visible through said cover beyond the masking opaque section of the cover as aring, said pasty body and said opaque masking section being of contrasting colors.

8. A refrigerated package containing a refrigerated product inside an enclosure and a tell-tale device on said package forming a unit therewith for indicating undesirable interruptions in the refrigerated status of said package irrespective of any subsequent resumption of said status, said tell-tale device comprising a container, a portion of which is filled with a pasty body and a fermenting agent carried by said body and having the property of creating gas at temperatures above the normal refrigerated temperature of the package and of causing thereby said body to be distended into the unfilled portion of said container, said container having a cover, a section of which extends over the unfilled portion of the container and is transparent to permit visible observation of the body distention in said unfilled portion, said filled portion of the container being located in position to be thermally sensitive and responsive to the temperature surrounding said package.

9'. A refrigerated package containing a refrigerated product inside an enclosure and a tell-tale device on said package forming a unit therewith for indicating undesirable interruptions in the refrigerated status of said package irrespective of any subsequent resumption of said status, said tell-tale device comprising a container substantially smaller than said product enclosure and having a portion filled With a pasty body and a fermenting agent carried by said body and having the property of creating gas at temperatures above the normal refrigerated temperature of the package and of causing thereby said body to be distended into the unfilled portion of said container, and means responsive to the distention of the body into said unfilled portion of said container for translating said distention into visible tell-tale indications.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,560,537 7/ 1951 Andersen. 2,671,028 3/ 1954 Clark. ,2950,202 8/ 1960 Brockmann.

3,067,015 12/ 1962 Lawderrnilt.

OTHER REFERENCES McPherson et al.: Improved Bread Made From Frozen Doug page 96, Food Industries, September 1948.

A. LOUIS MONACELL, Primary Examiner.

D. J. DONOVAN, Assistant Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A TELL-TALE DEVICE FOR COMBINATION WITH A REFRIGERATED PACKAGE FOR INDICATING UNDESIRABLE INTERRUPTIONS IN THE REFRIGERATED STATUS OF SAID PACKAGE IRRESPECTIVE OF ANY SUBSEQUENT RESUMPTION OF SAID STATUS, SAID TELL-TALE DEVICE COMPRISING A CONTAINER HAVING ON THE INSIDE A LEDGE, A COVER FOR SAID CONTAINER HAVING AN OPAQUE PORTION AND A TRANSPARENT PORTION, AND A PASTY FERMENTABLE BODY CONTAINING A FERMENTING AGENT AND ENCLOSED IN SAID CONTAINER AND COVER, SAID LEDGE BEING VISIBLE THROUGH THE TRANSPARENT PORTION OF SAID COVER, AND SAID PASTY FERMENTABLE BODY BEING CONCEALED FROM VIEW BY THE OPAQUE PORTION OF SAID COVER UNDER NORMAL REFRIGERATED TEMPERATURE OF THE PACKAGE, WHEREBY AT TEMPERATURES ABOVE SAID NORMAL REFRIGERATED TEMPERATURE OF THE PACKAGE, THE FERMENTING AGENT CREATES GAS, THEREBY CAUSING THE PASTY FERMENTABLE BODY TO EXPAND BEYOND THE OPAQUE PORTION OF THE COVER AND FLOW OVER THE INSIDE LEDGE OF THE CONTAINER TO AFFORD TELLTALE INDICATIONS THROUGH THE TRANSPARENT PORTION OF THE COVER THAT THE REFRIGERATED STATSU OF THE PACKAGE HAS BEEN INTERRUPTED TO AN UNSUITABLE EXTENT.

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