Pop quiz: Mischievous children can't open me, but frail senior citizens can. What am I?

Answer: Named the MediCRREO pouch, I am a transparent, standup pouch with a recloseable slide zipper and child-resistant lockable jaws. I am the only recloseable known to pass the Child Resistant/Senior Friendly Testing by the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission.

"The package marks the first time flexible packaging has been used as a recloseable child-resistant container and is the first clear recloseable/reusable container in the pharmaceutical industry. The bag has established itself as a proven, unique rigid replacement product," says David Diederich, president of Pactech, Rochester, N.Y. Pactech developed the award-winning pouch, used as an overpack for blister cards, after the CPSC said they wanted a child-resistant recloseable package for clinical drugs.

To make the pouch, injection molder Convey Inc., Euless, Texas, first prepares a polypropylene closure according to Pactech's specifications. The closure is tested every hour to ensure it's in spec.

Next, Cello-Foil, Battle Creek, Mich., laminates three materials together: nylon from Honeywell, Morristown, N.J.; cross-laminated Valtuff™ film from Valéron Strength Films, Houston, for tear-resistance and package integrity; and Midland, Mich.-based Dow Chemical's low-density sealant layer. During large runs, Cello-Foil also prints instructions and lot numbers on the bags.

After acquiring a recloseable slide zipper from ITW Minigrip, Orangeburg, N.Y., Pactech has the ingredients to fabricate the pouch. A Prototech pouchmaker unwinds the web and double-folds it, so the zipper can be placed on one side only. In other products, zippers are sealed to both sides. After applying the zipper, the converter forms the bag and gussets, if it's a stand-up.

As the process continues, the zipper and pouch are sealed, and holes are punched for the closure mechanism. This is all done on the Prototech machine, but at different speeds depending on the pouch size. Pouches range from 2 x 3 in. to 24 x 24 x 8 in. On an 8 x 12 x 3 in. pouch, for example, production speed is 50 fpm.

Next, a Pactech machine running at 2,000 fpm ultrasonically seals the closure mechanism and zipper crush seal. This step ensures that a child ages 48 to 54 mo. cannot open the bag. If a short run, Pactech prints the bags using an ink-jet printer at the same speed as the pouchmaker.

Pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Synthelabo Research, Malvern, Pa., began using the pouch last year in October, when the CPSC required child-resistant packaging. Ed Suez, senior manager of Clinical Investigation Products at Sanofi, was attracted to MediCRREO for its child-resistance and transparency features. He comments, "MediCRREO has worked out well. It offered a good solution for us at a time when there weren't too many others we could implement quickly."