A bag-in-box or BiB is a container for the storage and transportation of liquids. It consists of a strong

bladder The urinary bladder, or simply bladder, is a hollow organ in humans and other vertebrates that stores urine from the kidneys before disposal by urination. In humans the bladder is a distensible organ that sits on the pelvic floor. Urine en ...

(or

plastic bag A plastic bag, poly bag, or pouch is a type of container made of thin, flexible, plastic film, nonwoven fabric, or plastic textile. Plastic bags are used for containing and transporting goods such as foods, produce, powders, ice, magazine ...

), usually made of several layers of

metallised film Metallised films (or metallized films) are polymer films coated with a thin layer of metal, usually aluminium. They offer the glossy metallic appearance of an aluminium foil at a reduced weight and cost. Metallised films are widely used for decorati ...

or other

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adapta ...

s, seated inside a

corrugated fiberboard Corrugated fiberboard or corrugated cardboard is a type of packaging material consisting of a fluted corrugated sheet and one or two flat linerboards. It is made on "flute lamination machines" or "corrugators" and is used for making corrugate ...

box.

Features

The bag is supplied to the company which will fill it as an empty pre-made bag. The company filling the bag with its product generally removes the tap, fills the bag (with

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented grapes. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different ...

juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat or seafood, such as ...

or other liquid) and replaces the tap and then the bag is placed in the box. The bags are available as singles for semi-automatic machines or as web bags, where the bags have perforations between each one. These are used on automated filling systems where the bag is separated on line either before the bag is automatically filled or after. Depending on the end use, there are a number of options that can be used on the bag instead of the tap. The bags can be filled from chilled product temperatures up to . BiB packaging can be made using form seal fill (FSF) technology, where the bags are manufactured on-line from reels of film, then the FlexTap is inserted then filled on an integral rotary head filler. The BiB is currently used to package wine, soda fountain syrup products, milk, liquid chemicals, and water.

History

The first commercial BiB system was invented by American chemist William R. Scholle in 1955 for the safe transportation and dispensing of battery acid. Scholle's invention inspired a "packaging revolution." In 1991, Scholle was inducted into the packaging hall of fame for his invention.

Uses

BiB has many common commercial applications. Among the most common ones are to supply syrup to soft drink fountains and to dispense bulk supplied condiments such as ketchup or mustard in the

foodservice The foodservice (US English) or catering (British English) industry includes the businesses, institutions, and companies which prepare meals outside the home. It includes restaurants, school and hospital cafeterias, catering operations, and many ...

industry (especially in

fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredie ...

outlets). BiB technology is still used for its original application of dispensing

sulfuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular fo ...

for filling lead-acid batteries in garages and dealerships. As explained further below, BiBs have also been implemented for consumer applications like boxed wine. For commercial syrup applications, the customer opens one end of the box (sometimes via a pre-scored opening) and connects a compatible connector to a built-in port on the bag to pump out its contents. The port itself contains a one-way valve which opens only under pressure from the attached connector and which prevents contamination of the syrup in the bag. For consumer applications like boxed wine, there is a tap already present on the bag which protrudes through a pre-cut hole on the box, so all the consumer has to do is locate the tap on the outside of the box. Producers like BiB packaging because it is inexpensive. BiB also offers environmental benefits by allowing contents of 1.5–1000 liters, so that less packaging or labeling is required. The material it is made from is lighter than the other plastic alternatives, providing it with a better

carbon footprint A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, service, place or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Greenhouse gases, including the carbon-containing gases carbo ...

Wine cask

The 'wine cask' was invented by

Thomas Angove Thomas William Carlyon Angove AM (191830 March 2010) was an Australian winemaker who is credited with the invention of the wine cask. Biography In 1947, Angove, grandson of the founder of Angove’s (Dr. William T. Angove) took over as Ango ...

(1918–2010) of Angove's, a winemaker from Renmark, South Australia, and patented by the company on April 20, 1965. Polyethylene bladders of 1

gallon The gallon is a unit of volume in imperial units and United States customary units. Three different versions are in current use: *the imperial gallon (imp gal), defined as , which is or was used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Aust ...

(4.5 litres) were put into corrugated boxes for sale to consumers. An original design required that the consumer cut the corner off the bladder inside the box, pour out the desired quantity of wine and then reseal it with a special peg. In 1967,

Charles Malpas Charles Henry Malpas (28 April 1899 – 1 January 1982) was an Australian inventor and businessman. Malpas was born at Leicester in England to toolmaker Charles Edward Malpas and Florence, ''née'' Merry. He served in the Royal Air Force f ...

and Penfolds Wines patented a plastic, air-tight tap welded into an aluminised film bladder, making storage much more convenient for consumers. All modern wine casks now utilise some sort of plastic tap, which is exposed by tearing away a

perforated A perforation is a small hole in a thin material or web. There is usually more than one perforation in an organized fashion, where all of the holes collectively are called a ''perforation''. The process of creating perforations is called perfor ...

panel on the box. The main advantage of BiB packaging is that it prevents

oxidation Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or ...

of the wine during dispensing. Rather than working as a conventional tap, the bladder uses gravity pressure to squeeze the liquid out of the bladder, whereas a conventional barrel tap works by allowing incoming air to displace the contents. After opening wine in a

bottle A bottle is a narrow-necked container made of an impermeable material (such as glass, plastic or aluminium) in various shapes and sizes that stores and transports liquids. Its mouth, at the bottling line, can be sealed with an internal s ...

, it is oxidized by air in the bottle which has displaced the wine poured; wine in a bag is not touched by air and thus not subject to oxidation until it is dispensed. Cask wine is not subject to

cork taint Cork taint is a broad term referring to a wine fault characterized by a set of undesirable smells or tastes found in a bottle of wine, especially spoilage that can only be detected after bottling, aging and opening. Though modern studies have sho ...

or spoilage due to slow consumption after opening. Although a promising technology, there have been production and design problems. The impermeable bladders tend to delaminate around the tap and where the two halves are joined. If tap components are deposited in the bladder during assembly, all the bladders must be destroyed to find the components as the bladders are opaque. It has also been difficult to manufacture taps that do not leak air into the bladder since tap parts usually do not join neatly, although there have been significant improvements. Most red wines require breathing before consumption which is not possible with casks, so the wine has air circulated through it before bottling (usually by running through a centrifuge), which reduces shelf life considerably. Most casks will have a best-before date stamped. As a result, it is not intended for cellaring and should be consumed within the prescribed period.

Aseptic packaging

BiB is also used extensively in the packaging of processed fruit and dairy products in aseptic processes. Using aseptic packaging equipment, products can be packed in aseptic packaging. Pasteurized or UHT treated products packed into this format can be "shelf-stable", requiring no refrigeration. Some products can have a

shelf life Shelf life is the length of time that a commodity may be stored without becoming unfit for use, consumption, or sale. In other words, it might refer to whether a commodity should no longer be on a pantry shelf (unfit for use), or no longer on a ...

of up to 2 years, depending on the type of bag that is used. The key to this unique system is that the product being filled is not exposed to the external environment at any stage during the process and as such, there is no possibility of a bacterial load being added to the product during the filling process. To ensure there is no contamination from the packaging, the bag is irradiated after the bag manufacturing process. These packs are typically from 10 to 1200 liters and offer the advantage of cheap, disposable and transport efficient packaging.

Notes

References

*Yam, K. L., "Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology", John Wiley & Sons, 2009, *Soroka, W, "Fundamentals of Packaging Technology", IoPP, 2002, {{Bags Bags Food storage containers Packaging Milk containers