WO1996011108A1

WO1996011108A1 - Articles formed of multilayered film having antifog properties

Info

Publication number: WO1996011108A1
Application number: PCT/CA1995/000564
Authority: WO
Inventors: Harry Nagata
Original assignee: At Plastics Inc.
Priority date: 1994-10-06
Filing date: 1995-10-04
Publication date: 1996-04-18
Also published as: CA2133777A1; AU3560695A

Abstract

Thermoplastic multilayer film for use as greenhouse film and perishable fruits and vegetable product bags comprising a first layer of nylon and at least a second layer comprising a polyolefin. The nylon layer has a surface innermost of the greenhouse when the film is positioned on the greenhouse, and innermost of the bag. The film in these utilities provides advantageous extended anti-fog properties.

Description

ARTICLES FORMED OF MULTD AYERED FILM HAVING ANTTFOG PROPERTIES

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to multilayered, polyolefin films having an outer layer of nylon and particularly to multilayered polyethylene films having an outer layer of nylon. The films are of use in greenhouse coverings and modified atmosphere packaging having improved anti-fog properties.

Background of the Invention

A greenhouse by its very nature is required to be closed during cold periods to contain the heat to create its growing environment. At high humidity inside the greenhouse, water condenses on the inside of the greenhouse roof or cover when the temperature of the roof or cover is reduced to the dew point or lower.

One characteristic of a thermoplastic greenhouse film in a humid greenhouse environment is that the water condensate forms on the surface of the film as fine droplets. This condition is known as "fogging" and creates two basis problems for the grower. First, the transmission of sunlight, an essential requirement for plant growth, is reduced. Second, the fine droplets coalesce to form larger droplets which fall onto and may damage the crop below. The damage to the crop may be to the extent that the market value based on crop quality is reduced, and in the case of a speciality crop such as flowers, the damage can render the crop unmarketable.

One way to overcome the above problem of fogging is to spray the surface of the film exposed in the greenhouse environment with a substance which when dry forms a coating which increases the surface tension of the film surface so as to reduce the interfacial tension between the surface and water condensate. The result is that the water vapour condensate wets the film with a clear sheet of water. The water then runs continually down the curvature of the film, instead of the water droplets "raining" down upon the crop below. The enhanced transmission of light increases the crop growth while preventing crop damage.

However, one problem encountered with the aforementioned spraying of the greenhouse film is that the sprayed substance may itself be harmful to the crop.

Although reasonable steps are generally taken to protect the crop during the spraying operation, even with the most careful of application techniques some crop damage is inevitably experienced.

In addition, because the coating substance is sprayed as a solution and the mixing process is generally critical and requires the use of distilled water and/or pH balance control, care by growers must be taken. Further, for successful application the film must be dry, and sunlight to dry the coating is necessary. The grower must not only take great care but must also await the proper weather and time of day to apply the solution. It can thus be seen that an anti-fog system that does not require the labour intensive spraying of "in-house" film offers an advantage to growers.

Another method used to overcome the anti-fogging problem involves the incorporation of surfactants into the plastics matrix by the manufacturers of the greenhouse film wherein the surfactant "blooms" to the inner surface of the greenhouse covering, i.e., there is a slow release of the surfactant to the film surface over time.

In use, the surfactant is absorbed at the film surface into the water condensate and effects a reduction in water surface tension. This causes the water to sheet and prevent the formation of droplets. Unfortunately, the efficiency of the anti-fog properties of the film drops off over time. Thus, there is a need for a film having an extended effective greenhouse, antifog property lifetime over that given by commercially available greenhouse films.

For related reasons there is also a need for an improved film when used as known in the art as "Modified Atmosphere Packaging". Such packaging is made of a thermoplastic material in the form of sachets, bags, sacks and the like for containing food products such as meat, vegetables and fresh fruits.

While modified atmosphere packaging includes vacuum packaging, such as for sliced meat portions, a major outlet at the retail level is for fresh vegetable salad mix bags and fresh vegetable portion packs. The bags or packs generally have apertures to allow for air and carbon dioxide permeance or transmission, by having specified hole sizes or porosity.

One of the drawbacks of clear film packaging for the above use is that the film of the bag 'fogs-up' in a cool storage area such as in a cooled retail display shelf or the like in a retail outlet such as a supermarket. This fogging hinders the desired good visibility of the food contents. As in the case of some greenhouse film formulations mentioned hereinabove, surfactants have been incorporated into the thermoplastic matrix to reduce the fogging. Although anti-fogging long life requirements of food packaging is not necessary, as in the case of greenhouse film, release of surfactant to the surface or skin of the food is not desirable. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved anti-fog film and, particularly, for such a film that does not release chemicals to contaminate foods.

Summary of the Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a greenhouse having a roof covering of a film having anti-fog properties of extended effectiveness.

It is a further object of the invention to provide modified atmosphere packaging for fresh food produce formed of a surfactant-free anti-fog film.

These and other objects of the present invention will be seen from a reading of this specification as a whole.

Accordingly, the invention provides in one aspect an improved greenhouse assembly comprising in combination greenhouse cover support means and a multilayered thermoplastic film supported by said cover support means, said film having a first layer innermost of the assembly and at least a second layer, the improvement comprising said first layer is a nylon and said second layer comprises a polyolefin.

By the term "nylon" as used in this specification is meant melt- processable thermoplastic polyamides whose chain structure features repeating amide groups, such as, for example, amorphous nylon, nylon-6,6 (polyhexamethylene adipamide), nylons-6,9, -6, 10 and -6,12, nylon 6 (polycapromide), nylon 11, nylon 12, polymers, copolymers and blends thereof.

It is known that nylons absorb moisture from their immediate environment to eventually reach a level that is in equilibrium with the relative humidity of the atmosphere. It is known also that moisture has a plasticizing effect on nylons that increases flexibility and impact resistance.

It will be apparent that in one aspect the invention resides in the discovery that a nylon layer providing the innermost surface of the roof covering of a greenhouse provides satisfactory anti-fog characteristics over an unexpected beneficial period of time. Thus, the nature of the second and, optionally, other layers of the multilayer film of use in the practice of the invention may be suitably selected by the skilled artisan based on the usual desired properties such as weight, ease of manufacture, durability, resistance to sunlight, and the like. It will be, thus, clear that the choice of olefinic material of such subordinate layers is not crucial to this invention and resides within the skill in the art.

Preferably, the subordinate layer is formed of at least one polyolefin. By the term "polyolefin" as used in this specification and claims is meant the polyethylene, polypropylene and polybutadiene family of olefine polymers and copolymers. As examples, high density, low density and linear low density polyethylenes and 1,2 - polybutadienes may be mentioned. The term "polyethylene" includes ethylene homopolymers, and copolymers of, such as vinyl acetate, acrylic acid, methyl metanylate, butene, n-hexene, 4-methyl-l-pentene and octene polymers with ethylene and blends thereof.

The multilayered film of use in the practice of the invention may comprise (a) a plurality of distinct layers constituted as a plurality of distinct plies, (b) a laminate comprising at least two distinct films or plies adhered to each other, directly, or by means of an adhesive, (c) a co-extruded film produced by the self-adhesion of two or more films to each other under hot process conditions or (d) a co-oriented film, laminate or ply made by the cold drawing of a plurality of thermoplastic films, simultaneously in such close contact together that under the drawing step at the drawing temperature the films become intimately associated and unified into a single resultant film or ply while each undivided film is being uni-axially oriented. The coextruded film of use in the invention may comprise two or more layers provided that a nylon layer comprises one outer layer. In the case of a typical three layer coextrusion film the layers are nylon, a tie layer, and a polyolefinic plastic material. The tie layer provides the bond strength between the nylon and the polyolefin layers. By use of additives in the polyolefin layer, it is also possible in the alternative to bond the polyolefin to nylon without the use of a special tie layer. Coextrusion of films may be accomplished by the blown tubular film method or the sheet method, both of which are commonly used in industry.

The tie layer may comprise those polymers well-known to industry for bonding olefinic plastic materials and nylon, for example, Primacor™ from Dow

Chemicals, Plexar™ from Quantum Chemicals, Surlyn™ from DuPont and Attane™ from Dow Chemical.

The layers of nylon, tie and polyolefin may be, preferably, further stabilized for multiyear service life in a greenhouse environment. Stabilization additives, include, for example, antioxidants, UV stabilizers, UV absorbers and chelating agents in the quantities required for their specific application.

In addition, the coextruded film may contain additives to give light diffusion, alteration of sunlight spectrum, infra-red energy conservation, and barrier properties. Preferably, the film comprises a nylon having a melting point (Tg) of between 130°C, prefereable 200-230°C.

The nylon layer after equilibration with water in a humid atmosphere to become so-called "wetted", preferably, has a surface tension of greater than 65 dynes/cm and, more preferably, between 70-75 dynes/cm. A typical multilayered film of use in the invention is a coextrusion of:

Nylon layer EMS grade XE 3303 l mil

Tie layer Primacor™ l mil

Olefinic layer LLDPE 2.5 mil The multilayered films as described aforesaid may be readily made by aforesaid processes known in the art, preferably by blown film extrusion. Film widths range, typically, from lm to 15m. 3- and 5-layered coextruded films of a nylon outer layer with layers of LDPE, LLDPE or EVA copolymer blends are most preferred.

The multilayered film is installed and laid to cover the covering supports of a greenhouse structure as is conventional in the art, but with the nylon surface on the inside of the greenhouse. The humidity within the greenhouse condenses on the nylon surface to form a clear sheet of condensate. Freshly installed film takes less than

24 hours to equilibrate with the humid greenhouse atmosphere and become wetted.

The antifog action of the nylon film is very long lasting as to be deemed almost permanent in its antifogging effect, since there are no surfactants or sprayed coatings to be bleached away.

Packaging comprising film of use in the present invention manufactured in the form of sheets, rolls, bags, sachets and the like may also be made by conventional processes known in die art. The packaging is, generally, provided to the food processor for the packing of the vegetable, fruit or meat produce carried out conventionally by hand or machine. The packaged produce may be then, optionally, cooled or refrigerated prior to distribution to retailers.

Accordingly, in a further aspect the invention provides a packaged perishable foodstuff comprising in combination a packaging article as hereinbefore defined containing the foodstuff.

Brief Description of the Drawing

In order that the invention may be better understood preferred embodiments will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying Examples and drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 represents a perspective view of an unrolled, unfolded film positioned on a greenhouse according to the invention; and

Fig. 2 represents a perspective view of a package containing a foodstuff according to the invention. Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments of the Invention

Accelerated antifog tests simulating multiyear commercial usage have shown that embodiments of multilayered nylon films of use in the practice of the present invention performed both satisfactorily and continuously long after a commercially available antifog greenhouse film had become "fogged".

Example l

Accelerated Test for Simulated Longevity Of Antifog Performance

Specimens of transparent nylon films (EMS - American Grilon Inc, Sumter, S.C. U.S.A) (304 mm X 600 mm) were arranged to form a plastic inclined roof of a tent-like humidity box enclosing a water bath maintained at 60°C to provide a humid atmosphere at a temperature of about 38°C. The outer layer of the film was exposed to the atmosphere at an ambient temperature of about 22°C. The specimen films were mounted in an inclined position such that condensate continually ran down the length of the inner surface of the specimen films and washed their surfaces. The specimens were observed by visible inspection for an assessment to be made of the longevity of the anti-fogging characteristics. RESULTS Length of

Antifog

Performance

Sample Grade Composition (Months) original CB62BSE CoPA 6/6.9 5

Folie 2 blend 75% F34/25% CR9 11 + Folie 3 blend 85% F34/15% CP62BS 11 + Folie 4 blend 85% F34/15% XE3222 11 + Folie 5 XE 3314 MedVis PA6, = Nucleated F34 11 + Folie 6 XE 3398 XE 3222 + amorph CoPA (G21) 11 + Folie 7 FE 4122 PA6 + amorphous CoPA 11 + additional XE 3303 CoPA 6.6/6.10 11 +

93-46 blend 85% CF62BSE + 15% G21 1.5 AT Plastics Dura^R Film - a commercial antifog greenhouse film has a Λ months length of antifog performance.

The results show that currently marketed commercial grades of filmable nylon performed well in showing satisfactory antifog properties for up to the lifetime of the test, i.e. 11 months, in contrast to the control commercial greenhouse film's result of VΔ months.

The effect of moisture on nylon is also beneficial, when the nylon is used in articles of the invention, e.g. greenhouse or packaging film by making the nylon layer less brittle. A dry and "wetted" five-layered sample comparison for the sample comprising FE 4122 is given below, as Y:

Y_. Layer 1. Blend LDPE/LLDPE (100 μm)

2. Tie (5 μm)

3. FE4122 (20 μm)

4. Tie (5 μm)

5. FE4122 (20 μm)

Physical Properties Units Dry as is Wetted

Elmendorf tear, MD N 1.74 3.74

TD N 10.6 9.98

Tensile properties MD:

Yield strength MPa 20.0 15.9

Break strength MPa 33.0 32.4

Elongation % 326 362

Tensile properties TD:

Yield strength MPa 20.8 16.6

Break strength MPa 24.7 17.7

Elongation % 307 263

Moisture loss, 48h % 1.2

Light Transmission % 91.7 91.7

With reference now to Fig. 1, wherein a greenhouse assembly shown generally as 10, has a plurality of roof support members 12 and side support members 14 to which is held a covering film 16. Film 16 is selected from the five-layered films of the following construction: 1. Order of LDPE 85% F3A 85% F3A

Material + HV + HV + LLDPE 15% XE3222 15%

XE3222

Thickness 100 μ 5μ 20μ 5μ 20μ

Order of LDPE

Material + HV XE 3398 HV XE 3398 LLDEP

Thickness 100 μ 5μ 20μ 5μ 20μ

Order of LDPE

Material + HV FE4122 HV FE 4122 LLDPE

Thickness 100 μ 5μ 20μ 5μ 20μ

Order of LDEP Material + HV XE 3314 HV XE 3314 LLDPE

Thickness 100 μ 5μ 20μ 5μ 20μ wherein HV is a tie layer of ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymer. These films are made on a commercial five-layer co-extrusion line.

Fig. 2 shows generally as 20 a thermoplastic packaging article containing a perishable foodstuff, such as a fruit or vegetable (not shown) formed of the five-layered film 22 described hereinbefore under sample Y. Bag 20 has a plurality of breath holes 24 and contains a plurality of apples 26.

The nylon thermoplastic elastomers have the following properties:

TEST

PROPERTIES METHOD UNITS VALTJES

General

Melting Point DSC °F/°C 392/200

Specific Gravity ASTM D792 — 1.09

Melt Flow Index DIN 53735 ml 10 min. 60

(275°C/10 kg) dry

24 hour H₂O

Absorption ASTM D570 % 1.16 Film Properties (measured on a 50 μm film sample) Oj permeability

73°F(23°C)/50% RH DIN 53380 cm³/m²-d-bar55

73°F(23°C)/100% RH 75

COj permeability

73°F(23°C)/50% RH DIN 53380 cm³/m²-d-barl85

N₂ permeability

73°F(23°C)/50% RH DLN 53380 cm³/m *d-barl2

Water Vapor

Permeability DIN 53122 g/m² -d 14

900 Cycle Gelbo

Flex Tester EMS holes/m² 190

Puncture Work DIN 53373 Nm (cond.) 0.5

Shrinkage EMS % 30

Gloss (60°) DIN 67530 120

Mechanical Properties Dry-As -Molded Conditioned

Tensile Strength ASTM D638 psi (MPa) 9,000(62) 3,600 (25)

Elongation @ Yield ASTM D638 % 525

Elongation @ Break ASTM D638 % 100 300

Flexural Strength ASTM D790 psi (MPa) 12,000 3,000(21)

Flexural Modulus ASTM D790 psi (MPa) 266,000 60,000(414)

Hardness Shore D D-Scale 78 68

Izod Impact Strength ASTM D256 ft-lb/in(J/m) 1.01(59)

Grilon XE3222 fNvlon 6/6.9Ϊ:

TEST

PROPERTIES MEEHOJ2 UNITS VALUES

General

Melting Point DSC °F/°C 396/202

Specific Gravity ASTM D792 — 1.11

Melt Flow Index DIN 53735 ml 10 min. 140

(275°C/10 kg) dry

24 hour H₂O

Absorption ASTM D570 % 2.20

Film Properties (measured on a 50 μm film sample)

Oj permeability

73°F(23°C)/50% RH DIN 53380 cm³/m²*d-bar35

73°F(23°C)/100% RH 100

CO₂ permeability

73°F(23°C)/50% RH DIN 53380 cm³/m²-d-bar70

N₂ permeability 73°F(23°C)/50% RH DIN 53380 cm³/m²-d-barl4

Water Vapor

Permeability DIN 53122 g/m^{2 *}d 20

900 Cycle Gelbo

Flex Tester EMS holes/m² 400

Puncture Work DIN 53373 Nm (cond.) i 2.5

Shrinkage EMS % 25

Gloss (60°) DIN 67530 100

Mechanical Properties Drv-As

-Molded Conditioned

Tensile Strength ASTM D638 psi (MPa) 9,400(65) 4,100 (28)

Elongation @ Yield ASTM D638 % 1025

Elongation @ Break ASTM D638 % 270 300

Flexural Strength ASTM D790 psi (MPa) 13,100 3,000(21)

(90)

Flexural Modulus ASTM D790 psi (MPa) 304,000 65,000(449) (2098)

Hardness Shore D D-Scale 76 69

Izod Impact Strength ASTM D256 ft-lb/in(J/m) .08(43) N.B.

PROPERTIES METHOP UNITS VALUES

General

Glass Transition Temp DSC °F/°C 257/125

Specific Gravity ASTM D792 — 1.18

Moisture Absorption ASTM D570 %

24 hour immersion 1.29

Melt Flow Index DIN 53735 ml/10 min.(dry)

(275°C/10 kg) 90

Refractive Index DIN 53491 — 1.58

Light Transmission ASTM D1003 1 % 91

Heat Deflection Temperature

66 psi (455 kpa) ASTM D648 °F/°C 244/118

264 psi (1820 kPa) ASTM D648 °F/°C 223/106

Mechanical

Tensile Strength ASTM D638 psi (MPa) 10,400(72)

Elongation @ Break ASTM D638 % 15

Flexural Strength ASTM D790 psi (MPa) 17,200(119)

Flexural Modulus ASTM D790 psi (MPa) 416,000 (2870)

Izod Impact Strength ASTM D256 ft-lb/in

Notched (J/m) 1.0 (53)

Hardness Shore D-Scale 80 Film Properties (measured on a 50 micron fllm sample) Oj permeability

73°F(23°C)/50% RH DIN 53380 cm³/m²*d-bar 30

73°F(23°C)/100% RH 8

COi permeability

73°F(23°C)/50% RH DIN 53380 cm³/m²-d*bar 75

N₂ permeability

73°F(23°C)/50% RH DIN 53380 cm³/m²*d-bar 10

Water Vapor

Permeability DIN 53122 g/m² -d 7

Gloss (60°) DENT 67530 140

Grilon F34 Natural 6368 fNvlon 6):

TEST

PROPERTIES METHOO UNITS VA UES

General

Melting Point DSC °F/°C 430/220

Specific Gravity ASTM D792 — 1.14

Moisture Absorption ASTM D570 %

24 hr. immersion 230

In Air 73°F(23°C)/50% RH 2-3

In Water 73°F/23°C • 10

Film Properties

O₂ permeability DIN 53380 cm³/m -d-bar

23°C/0% RH 25

23°C/85% RH 100

CO₂ permeability

23°C/0% RH DIN 53380 cm³/m²-d-bar 65

N permeability

23°C/0% RH DIN 53380 cm³/m²-d-bar 10

Water Vapor

Permeability DIN 53122 g/m² -d 20

Gloss (60°) DIN 67530 100 Diy-As

Mechanical - ol eύ Conditioned

Tensile Strength ASTM D638 psi (MPa) 10,600(73) 5,500(38)

Elongation at Yield 5 20

Elongation at Break ASTM D638 % 265 315

Flexural Strength ASTM D790 psi (MPa) 16,000(110)4,500(31)

Flexural Modulus ASTM D790 10«psi (MPa) 35(2400) 8(560) Izod Impact Strength ASTM D256 ft-lb/in

Notched (J/m) 1.9 (1.01) N.B.

Charpy Impact Strength ASTM D256 ft-lb/in²

Notched 73°F/34°C (kJ/m²) 11(5) 42(20)

-40°F/°C 4(2) 11(5)

Hardness Shore D-Scale 80 78

Grilon CF62BSE fNvlon 6/6.9):

TEST •

PROPERTIES METHOD UNITS VALUES

General

Melting Point DSC °F/°C 273/134

Specific Gravity ASTM D792 — 1.09

Melt Flow Index DIN 53735 ml/10 min. 40

(190°C/10 kg) dry

24 hour H₂O

Absorption ASTM D570 % 2.53

Fllm Properties (measured on a 50 μm film sample)

O₂ permeability DIN 53380 cm³/m²-d-bar

73^βF(23°C)/50% RH 45

73°F(23°C)/100% RH 200

CO₂ permeability DIN 53380 cm³/m²-d-bar 125

73°F(23°C)/50% RH

N₂ permeability DIN 53380 cm³/m -d-bar 10

73°F(23°C)/50% RH

Water Vapor DIN 53122 g/m² -d 20

Permeability

900 Cycle Gelbo EMS holes/m² 600

Flex Tester

Puncture Work DIN 53373 Nm (cond.) 2

Shrinkage EMS % 40

Gloss (60°) DIN 67530 120

Mechanical Properties Drv-As -Molded Conditioned

Tensile Strength ASTM D638 psi (MPa) 5,900(41) 3,700(26)

Elongation @ Yield ASTM D638 % 1020

Elongation @ Break ASTM D638 % >250 330

Flexural Strength ASTM D790 psi (MPa) 2,500(17) 2,000(14)

Flexural Modulus ASTM D790 psi (MPa) 120,000 75,000(520) (828)

Hardness Shore D-Scale 72 59

Izod Impact Strength ASTM D526 ft-lb/in (J/m) N.B. N.B. Grilon ™ fNvlon 6/12):

PROPERTY METHOD UNIT VALUE

General

Melt Point DSC °C 200

°F 392

Specific Gravity ASTM D792 — 1.10

Melt Flow Index DIN 53735 ml/10 min. 200

(275°C/10 kg) dry

24 hour H₂O Absorption ASTM D570 % 2.5

Film Properties (measured on a 50 μm i film sample)

O₂ permeability DIN 53380 cm³/m²'d-baτ

23°C/50% RH 55

23°C/100% RH 100

CO₂ permeability DIN 53380 cm³/m -d-bar 170

23°C/50% RH

N₂ permeability DIN 53380 cm³/m²-d-bar 13

23°C/50% RH

Water Vapor DIN 53122 g/m² -d 15

Permeability

900 Cycle Gelbo EMS holes m² 800

Flex Tester

Puncture Work DIN 53373 Nm cond. 3

Shrinkage EMS 30

Gloss (60°) DIN 67530 140

Mechanical

Tensile Strength @

Yield ASTM D638 psi 5,800

Tensile Strength ®

Break ASTM D638 psi 7,100

Elongation @ Yield ASTM D638 % 20

Elongation @ Break ASTM D638 % >300*

Flexural Strength ASTM D790 psi 11,000

Flexural Modulus ASTM D790 psi 240,000

Hardness Shore D — 80

Izod Impact Strength ASTM D526 ft lb./in. 1.9

While certain preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described for purposes of the present disclosure, numerous changes in the arrangement and construction of elements thereof may be made by those skilled in the art which changes are encompassed within the scope and spirit of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An improved greenhouse assembly comprising in combination greenhouse cover support means and a multilayered thermoplastic film supported by said cover support means, said film having a first layer innermost of the assembly and at least a second layer, the improvement comprising said first layer is a nylon and said second layer comprises a polyolefin.

2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein said nylon has a surface tension greater than 65 dynes/cm.

3. An assembly as claimed in claim 2 wherein said nylon has a surface tension of between 70-75 dynes/cm.

4. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein said nylon is selected from nylon-6,6; nylon-6, nylon-6,9 and nylon-6,10.

5. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein said polyolefin is a polyethylene polymer, EVA copolymer, or 1 ,2-polybutadiene, or blends thereof.

6. An assembly as claimed in claim 5 wherein said polyethylene is selected from LDPE, LLDPE and HDPE.

7. A greenhouse film of such dimension as to cover a greenhouse wherein said film is as defined in any one of claims 1 - 6.

8. A produce bag, package, sachet and the like formed of a thermoplastic multilayered film having a first layer innermost of the bag operably in contact with said produce and at least a second layer, the improvement comprising said first layer is a nylon and said second layer comprises a polyolefin.

9. A produce bag as claimed in claim 8 wherein said nylon has a surface tension greater than 65 dynes/cm.

10. A produce bag as claimed in claim 9 wherein said nylon has a surface tension of between 70-75 dynes/cm.

11. A produce bag as claimed in claim 8 wherein said nylon is selected from nylon-6,6; nylon-6, nylon-6,9 and nylon-6,10.

12. A produce bag as claimed in claim 8 wherein said polyolefin is a polyethylene polymer, EVA copolymer or 1,2-polybutadiene or blends thereof.

13. A produce bag as claimed in claim 12 wherein said polyethylene is selected from LDPE, LLDPE and HDPE.

14. A produce bag as claimed in any one of claims 8 - 13 further comprising said produce contained within said bag.