Fresh Express creation listed among those that have had most impact
Fresh Express creation listed among those that have had most impact
USA Today recently selected the top 25 inventions that have changed the lives of American citizens, and Salinas, CA-based Fresh Express made the list for its bag technology.
Rating No. 10 on USA Today's list is Fresh Express' invention of a high-tech plastic bag introduced nationwide in 1989 that helped ignite a whole consumer category of portion-controlled foods with the rollout of mixed lettuce greens in a bag.
Jim Lugg, food safety chief for Fresh Express, has held several roles with the company since joining its predecessor Bruce Church Inc. in 1963. He was integral in helping lay the groundwork for the high-tech plastic bags. In 1966, Bruce Church heir Ted Taylor entered into a joint venture with appliance manufacturer Whirlpool Corp. called TransFRESH Corp. Mr. Lugg, head scientist for TransFRESH, and Mr. Taylor worked together to put fresh produce in a differently balanced atmosphere that manages oxygen and nitrogen levels, slowing respiration to keep produce fresh longer.
TransFRESH became a subsidiary of Bruce Church Inc. in 1971. Heirs of Bruce Church formed Fresh International in 1973, which eventually became Fresh Express in the 1980s.
In 1976, Fresh International introduced the first packaged salad for foodservice. Cut lettuce was introduced to the foodservice market in five- and 10-pound bags. In the early 1980s, the company tinkered with retail packages.
"We had a good product but not good shelf life," Mr. Lugg said. In 1983, Fresh Express developed the first packaged salad with a shelf life long enough to allow for retail distribution regionally.
From 1983 to 1989, bag technology was refined by testing different polymers. Fresh Express rolled out its patented breathable Keep Crisp bag in 1989 -- hailed by USA Today -- marrying the advancements in semi- permeable plastic films and the latest developments in modern atmosphere technologies.
This technological breakthrough created the first individually packaged, ready-to-eat fresh garden salad marketed to retail stores for the first time on a national basis under the brand name "Fresh Express."
But as notable as the Keep Crisp bag was in 1989, Mr. Lugg said there are "orders of magnitude improvement" in Fresh Express' bags since then.
Fresh Express has always believed that its bagged salads must be an aerobic product (with oxygen) -- not an anaerobic product (without oxygen), Mr. Lugg said.
Rating No. 10 on USA Today's list is Fresh Express' invention of a high-tech plastic bag introduced nationwide in 1989 that helped ignite a whole consumer category of portion-controlled foods with the rollout of mixed lettuce greens in a bag.
Jim Lugg, food safety chief for Fresh Express, has held several roles with the company since joining its predecessor Bruce Church Inc. in 1963. He was integral in helping lay the groundwork for the high-tech plastic bags. In 1966, Bruce Church heir Ted Taylor entered into a joint venture with appliance manufacturer Whirlpool Corp. called TransFRESH Corp. Mr. Lugg, head scientist for TransFRESH, and Mr. Taylor worked together to put fresh produce in a differently balanced atmosphere that manages oxygen and nitrogen levels, slowing respiration to keep produce fresh longer.
TransFRESH became a subsidiary of Bruce Church Inc. in 1971. Heirs of Bruce Church formed Fresh International in 1973, which eventually became Fresh Express in the 1980s.
In 1976, Fresh International introduced the first packaged salad for foodservice. Cut lettuce was introduced to the foodservice market in five- and 10-pound bags. In the early 1980s, the company tinkered with retail packages.
"We had a good product but not good shelf life," Mr. Lugg said. In 1983, Fresh Express developed the first packaged salad with a shelf life long enough to allow for retail distribution regionally.
From 1983 to 1989, bag technology was refined by testing different polymers. Fresh Express rolled out its patented breathable Keep Crisp bag in 1989 -- hailed by USA Today -- marrying the advancements in semi- permeable plastic films and the latest developments in modern atmosphere technologies.
This technological breakthrough created the first individually packaged, ready-to-eat fresh garden salad marketed to retail stores for the first time on a national basis under the brand name "Fresh Express."
But as notable as the Keep Crisp bag was in 1989, Mr. Lugg said there are "orders of magnitude improvement" in Fresh Express' bags since then.
Fresh Express has always believed that its bagged salads must be an aerobic product (with oxygen) -- not an anaerobic product (without oxygen), Mr. Lugg said.
