Receptacle for moisture-exuding food products

Claim 1

A receptacle for containing and displaying food products which tend to exude liquids, such as meat and poultry, and characterized by the ability to separate and maintain the exuded liquids from the food product to thereby minimize contamination of the food product and improve the appearance and shelf-life thereof, and comprising a food product supporting member having a wall, and an absorbent pad overlying and resting upon said wall, said pad comprising a mat of liquid absorbent material, an imperforate, liquid impermeable upper sheet overlying and covering said mat, and a bottom sheet of substantially liquid impermeable material underlying said mat so as to be disposed between said mat and said supporting member wall, the peripheral edges of said upper and bottom sheets being sealed together to enclose said mat of absorbent material therebetween, and said bottom sheet including a plurality of openings which are sized to permit passage of a liquid from said supporting member wall into said mat while substantially precluding reverse flow of the liquid and any associated bacteria back to the food product, and such that the liquid passes around the edges of the pad and into said mat and is confined by said pad out of contact with the food product, and spacer means disposed between said upper and bottom sheets of said pad for maintaining the separation of said upper and bottom sheets under the compressive load exerted by a food product resting thereupon, and to thereby minimize the compression of the mat and the reduction in the ability of the mat to absorb liquids when subjected to such load.