Tesco PLC, a U.K.-based international supermarket chain, has begun marketing five varieties of its unwashed salads in flexible bags that feature an innovative resealing concept. The 60-g reclosable bags of Rocket, Lamb's Lettuce, Red Salad, Baby Leaf with Watercress and Rocket and Crisp Leaf went on sale in Tesco in February. Tesco is the largest British retailer, both by global sales and by domestic market share, and the fourth-largest retailer in the world.

The produce is packaged in TapeTop bags from Amcor Flexibles (www.amcor.com) at Langmead Farms in West Sussex, England. The bags are made from 35-micron oriented polypropylene with Amcor's antimist technology, which enhances the visibility of the salad on the retail shelf. The bags are flexo-printed in seven colors at the Amcor Flexibles plant in Ledbury, England. This is the first time that Amcor Flexibles' unique, reclosable Amcor TapeTop packaging is being used to pack fresh produce. Amcor TapeTop is an innovative, patented pack concept that utilizes a precut band to allow multiple reclosures of the package.

The Amcor TapeTop system uses a slightly wider roll of material than a standard bag. The additional width of the film is cut off, and the band, which can be positioned anywhere on the bag through a patented process known as "cut and transfer," is used to reseal the bag. The TapeTop band is secured to the bag with a hot-melt adhesive supplied, in this case, by Henkel KgaA (www.henkel.com), and can be used to reclose the pack a number of times as more of the product is consumed, making it an ideal solution for any product typically not finished in one serving. Amcor TapeTop can be used with a range of peelable laminate structures as well as with OPP. It can be used for standard pillow bags and can be supplied by Amcor Flexibles as premade bags.

The TapeTop band is fully printable and, therefore, can be used for portion control and for general promotional opportunities. The system can be retrofitted to existing equipment or supplied with new vertical form/fill/seal bagging machines. Langmead Farms choose Netherlands-based Convenience Food Systems (www.cfs.com) for its machine modification.