US 20060247967A1 (19) United States (12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2006/0247967 A1 Prusik et al. (43) Pub. Date: Nov. 2, 2006 (54) METHOD OF MARKETING MATURING (52) U.S. Cl. ................................................... 705/14; 705/1 CONSUMABLE PRODUCTS AND PRODUCTS USEFUL THEREIN (57) ABSTRACT (76) Inventors: Thaddeus Prusik, Stroudsburg, PA Serge(US); Jean-PaulP. Gozlan, Martin,Paris (FR) London (GB); A marketing process for a maturing consumable product, especially one lacking a clear visual indication of maturity Correspondence Address: or ripeness, e.g. certain pears, other fruit, some cheeses. ROGER PITT aged beef, sausages and wine, employs a visual indicator KIRKPATRICK & LOCKHART NICHOLSON responsive to cumulative exposure to temperature, humidity, GRAHAM LLP atmospheric conditions and/or other environmental condi 599 LEXINGTON AVENUE tions. The maturity indicator responds by changing its visual 33RD FLOOR appearance, or providing another signal. after elapse of a NEW YORK, NY 10022-6030 (US) condition exposure correlated with the conditions antici pated to be required for a desired maturity stage of the (21) Appl. No.: 11/119,650 maturing product. Optionally the indicator can be incorpo rated in a label adhered to the maturing product. The (22) Filed: May 2, 2005 indicator can employ various indicator technologies includ ing an active chemical agent, e.g. a polyacetylenic agent, Publication Classification adhesive diffusion technology, an oxidative reaction, a silver salt redox reaction, an enzyme based reaction or an elec (51) Int. Cl. tronic condition exposure indicator. The visual indicator can G06Q 99/00 (2006.01) enable a customer readily to determine the ripeness or G07G 1/14 (2006.01) maturity of a product without having to handle it or other G06Q 30/00 (2006.01) wise physically inspect it. SELECT MATURATION COMMENCEMENT POINT 100 DETERMINEDESIRED MATURATURATION CONDITIONS 102 SELECT/PROGRAMACTIVE INDICATOR COMPONENT 104 SUPPLY MATURATION INDICATOR TO PROCESS 106 MODIFY PRODUCTION OF HOST PRODUCT 108 Patent Application Publication Nov. 2, 2006 Sheet 1 of 2 US 2006/0247967 A1 |<- 2 10N 14 FiO. 1 20 12 9 18 10 16 A <-2 14 12 16 Fig. 3 24 24 12 24 24 10||14 20 16- Fig. 2 -22 Fig. 5 Patent Application Publication Nov. 2, 2006 Sheet 2 of 2 US 2006/0247967 A1 SELECT MATURATION COMMENCEMENT POINT 100 DETERMINE DESIRED MATURATURATION CONDITIONS 102 SELECT/PROGRAMACTIVE INDICATOR COMPONENT 104 SUPPLY MATURATION INDICATOR TO PROCESS 106 MODIFY PRODUCTION OF HOST PRODUCT 108 Fig. 6 US 2006/0247967 A1 Nov. 2, 2006 METHOD OF MARKETING MATURING Furthermore, bananas, and other fruits, are often shipped in CONSUMABLE PRODUCTS AND PRODUCTS opaque boxes or other containers that make it difficult or USEFUL THEREN impossible to judge the ripeness of the fruit within by its visual appearance, without opening the box. STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY 0007. Other maturing consumable products, e.g. wine, SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT cheese, and fruits such as Anjou pears, do not show visual 0001 (Not applicable.) changes that can be easily interpreted by interested parties to assess the extent of ripening. Moreover, pears must usually be harvested before they are tree ripe. Pears that completely BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION ripen prior to harvest are "mushy' and may be gritty and are 0002 The present invention relates to a method of mar not desired by consumers. Accordingly, it is important to keting products for human or animal consumption, "con harvest the pear prior to complete ripening and to allow the Sumable products' hereinafter, that require maturation or pears to achieve a desired State of maturity after transport ripening to attain desirable or peak qualities that will provide and storage. This post-harvest ripening is a time and tem good customer or consumer acceptance, at a point of cus perature driven process. Because they may exhibit little tomer or consumer inspection. The point of customer inspec color change during ripening, determining maturity can be tion may be a point of sale, e.g. in a store, or a point of difficult and consumers often take home pears that are delivery, e.g. to the customer's home or business, or in the Surprisingly hard and unripe. customer's home or business, or another suitable point in the 0008 One test of ripeness of pears is to press on the fruit, distribution chain. desirably near the stem end, to feel some “give'. This is not 0003. The invention also relates to novel consumable desired in a retail outlet as various products will be damaged products and maturity or ripeness indicators useful in prac by this probing and not be saleable resulting in monetary ticing the method of the invention. While many consumable loss. products, for example most, but not all meats, most fish, 0009. To help meet the goal of providing pears to con orange juice, milk, breads and pastries and the like, dete Sumers in a desirable condition, it has been proposed to riorate as they pass through the distribution chain from monitor the maturity of the ripening pear by employing a producer to consumer, some products actually may improve. chemically sensitive color changing indicator to detect one 0004 Certain consumable products including, for or more chemical compounds emitted by the fruit during example, but without limitation, cheese, beef, wine, fresh ripening. The pears and the indicator are enclosed together fruit and vegetable or fruit products, e.g. pears, are initially in a container which is provided with limited airflow. The packaged, bottled, or harvested before they attain peak indicator changes color to signal the degree of ripeness and quality characteristics that will provide good or optimal a reference guide is provided in the package, to relate the consumer satisfaction. Such immature shipment from the indicator colors to the degree of ripeness. grower or packer is employed to allow natural biochemical 0010. Such a product has reportedly been marketed by processes to take place in the product during storage and The Pear Bureau Northwest, Milwaukee, Oreg., at super distribution to provide desirable final qualities at a point markets employing a clear polyester clamshell four-packs of of-sale, -use or -delivery. The various biochemical matura green Anjou pears, which do not change color as they ripen tion, or ripening, processes require particular time and (“the Pear Bureau product” hereinafter). A RIPESENSETM temperature exposure to yield a marketable product or sensor from the Jenkins Group (“the Jenkins sensor here optimum results. Appropriate temperature exposure for inafter) is affixed inside the lid of the clamshell. The adequate time, within the package if the product is pack clamshells are thermoformed with feet to permit stacking aged, is often of paramount concern in order to deliver the and have a 6 mm diameter hole in the bottom of each of the desired consumer acceptance of the end product. pack’s four compartments to provide air flow. The clamshell 0005. In contrast to most perishable consumable products lid friction-fits into the base and is secured with a pressure which deteriorate with the passage of time, the present sensitive label that provides evidence of tampering. The invention relates to consumable products which ultimately label is printed with a ripening indicator scale ranging from are perishable, but which can actually improve in quality, or crisp (orange) to juicy (yellow) is prominently affixed to the desirability to some consumers, with the passage of time clamshell package. The sensor has a color changing chem after production, harvesting, storage, or packaging. Pursuant istry that responds to the ripening aromas of the fruit. Before to the invention, it would be desirable to provide a means packing by the grower, the fruit is ethylene conditioned to whereby a consumer or other customer or interested party hasten and equalize the pears’ ripening. The indicator color can easily make a judgment as to whether the product has a visually indicates the pears' ripeness in a manner which a maturity Suiting their preference. The degree of maturity can customer can understand by referencing a ripeness scale on be selected by the product Supplier and may, for example, be an accompanying label. The packs carry no use-by or an optimal or mean value corresponding with a product fresh-by date. The pears typical shelf life is three to five quality that will appeal to a large proportion of prospective days, although refrigeration, if employed, will slow ripen CuStOmerS. ing. It is not clear to what extent variations in convection 0006. Some products have a built-in visual indicator of through the packages may affect the ripeness indicator. the extent of ripening, for example the skin of Some fruits 0011 Pursuant to the present invention, it may be under e.g. bananas, changes color as the fruit ripens. Bananas are stood that undue convection caused by local drafts or wind harvested when green in color, ripen to yellow and turn conditions might reduce the concentration of Volatile agent brown, when they have passed their normal prime condition. in the package of the Pear Bureau product. Alternatively, US 2006/0247967 A1 Nov. 2, 2006 blockage of the ventilation holes by another package, or 0016. The foregoing description of background art may other object, could cause an increased concentration of include insights, discoveries, understandings or disclosures, volatile within the package. Either eventuality could lead to or associations together of disclosures, that were not known inaccurate ripeness indications. Furthermore, the Pear to the relevant art prior to the present invention but which Bureau product requires a containing package for the fruit to were provided by the invention. Some such contributions of trap the chemical agents in the ripening aromas and is clearly the invention may have been specifically pointed out herein, unsuitable for use with fruit which is marketed as loose whereas other such contributions of the invention will be unpackaged pieces, as is the case for most Supermarket apparent from their context.