A flour sack or flour bag is a bag or sack for flour. Large bulk bags as well as smaller consumer sizes are available.

Description

A flour sack or flour bag is a bag or sack for flour. Sacks range in size and material.

Package types

Bulk packaging

Flour is often shipped from the miller to bakeries, institutions, and other bulk uses. Sizes range from 10 kg to 100 kg. One traditional construction was cheap

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

bags. These printed cotton bags were sometimes viewed as

collectable A collectable (collectible or collector's item) is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector. Collectable items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types of collectables and terms ...

s; other times the

flour sack fabric Flour sack fabric, feed sack fabric, or flour bag fabric is fabric (usually cheap cotton) used to produce a cloth sack used to store flour or animal feed. Flour sacks are often printed with simple designs and trademarks to indicate the millers a ...

was repurposed into a variety of household items. Current practices are to use multi-wall

paper sack A paper sack is a packaging type that can be constructed of one or several layers of high quality kraft paper, usually produced from virgin fibre. Paper sacks can also be referred to as industrial paper bags, industrial paper sacks or multi-wall ...

s. Some include a layer of

plastic film Plastic film is a thin continuous polymeric material. Thicker plastic material is often called a "sheet". These thin plastic membranes are used to separate areas or volumes, to hold items, to act as barriers, or as printable surfaces. Plas ...

for barrier properties and insect control. Woven polypropylene bags are also used for high strength; at least one variety ( Purdue Improved Crop Storage bags) also includes inner plastic bags.

Consumer packaging

Consumer packages are often bags or sacks constructed of paper.

Plastic film Plastic film is a thin continuous polymeric material. Thicker plastic material is often called a "sheet". These thin plastic membranes are used to separate areas or volumes, to hold items, to act as barriers, or as printable surfaces. Plas ...

s are also used, sometimes with reclosable features. Stand-up pouches of flour have recently been introduced.

Considerations

A wide variety of

wheat flour Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of wheat used for human consumption. Wheat varieties are called "soft" or "weak" if gluten content is low, and are called "hard" or "strong" if they have high gluten content. Hard flour, or ''bread ...

s are available. Flour can also be made from other grains, roots, nuts, etc.

Packaging engineer Packaging engineering, also package engineering, packaging technology and packaging science, is a broad topic ranging from design conceptualization to product placement. All steps along the manufacturing process, and more, must be taken into a ...

s and

food scientist Food science is the basic science and applied science of food; its scope starts at overlap with agricultural science and nutritional science and leads through the scientific aspects of food safety and food processing, informing the development ...

s need to understand the properties of the particular flour, intended handling and logistics systems, and desired

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 ...

. Package forms and materials can be matched to these needs.

Insects

Insects can be a probem. When available, a suitable insecticide can be used; care must be used to ensure product safety. Hermetic plastic bags also help. When insect infestation is noted, one method of stopping further growth is to freeze the sacks of flour for several days.

Cultural impact

Flour sack fabric Flour sack fabric, feed sack fabric, or flour bag fabric is fabric (usually cheap cotton) used to produce a cloth sack used to store flour or animal feed. Flour sacks are often printed with simple designs and trademarks to indicate the millers a ...

has been used as a cheap source of fabrics for consumers to create their own textiles. * Printed cotton bags were sometimes viewed as

s. * Various place names were named after flour sacks, since they were so ubiquitous in so many cultures.

Blatobulgium Blatobulgium was a Roman fort, located at the modern-day site known as Birrens, in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. Name Blatobulgium is recorded in the Antonine Itinerary. The name derives from the Brittonic roots ''*blāto-'' 'bloom, blossom' or ''*b ...

in Scotland, and

Pieniężno Pieniężno (former pl, Melzak; ) is a town in northern Poland, located on the Wałsza River in Warmia, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. It is located in Braniewo County and had a population of 2,975 in 2004. History Middle Ages During ...

in Poland, for example, are possibly named after words for ''flour sack'' in different languages. The all-white tower in the old city of Ravensburg in Germany is called ''Mehlsack''? *

Reuel Colt Gridley Reuel Colt Gridley (January 23, 1829 – November 24, 1870) was an American storekeeper who gained nationwide attention in 1864, when he repeatedly auctioned a plain sack of flour and raised over for the United States Sanitary Commission, which ...

famously carried a 50-pound bag of flour on his shoulder after losing a political bet in Austin, Nevada. The sack of flour was later auctioned off, then re-donated, then re-auctioned again and again to raise money for the

United States Sanitary Commission The United States Sanitary Commission (USSC) was a private relief agency created by federal legislation on June 18, 1861, to support sick and wounded soldiers of the United States Army (Federal / Northern / Union Army) during the American Civil W ...

during the American Civil War. Auctioning this single flour sack eventually raised more than $250,000.Lea, Ralph & Kennedy, Christi (1 October 2005)
Reuel Gridley and a sack of flour
''

Lodi News-Sentinel The ''Lodi News-Sentinel'' is a daily newspaper based in Lodi, California, United States, and serving northern San Joaquin and southern Sacramento counties. History The ''Lodi News-Sentinel'' was founded in 1881 by Ralph Ellis, a former sher ...

References

{{Packaging Bags Flour