Retort pouch

A retort pouch or retortable pouch is a type of food packaging made from a laminate of flexible plastic and metal foils. It allows the sterile packaging of a wide variety of food and drink handled by aseptic processing, and is used as an alternative to traditional industrial canning methods.

Packaged foods range from water to fully cooked, thermo-stabilized (heat-treated) high-caloric (1,300 kcal on average) meals such as Meals, Ready-to-Eat (MREs) which can be eaten cold, warmed by submersing in hot water, or through the use of a flameless ration heater, a meal component introduced by the military in 1992.

[1] Retort pouches are used in field rations, space food,

[2] fish products,

[3] camping food, instant noodles, and brands such as Capri Sun and Tasty Bite.

Some varieties have a bottom gusset and are known as stand-up pouches.