A heat-shrinkable bag has a means for initiating a manual tear that can be
propagated to open the bag and allow a product to be readily removed
therefrom, without the use of a knife or scissors or any other implement.
The bag is made from a heat-shrinkable multilayer film having a Peak Load
Impact Strength of at least 50 Newtons per mil. The means for initiating
tearing results in a first tear in the first side of the bag, and a
second tear in the second side of the bag. The first tear and the second
tear are each capable of being manually propagated through a heat seal
and across the bag, or down the length of the bag, with the tear being
capable of being manually propagated through and to an opposite bag edge,
so that the product inside a package can be readily removed from the bag.
A process for making a package and manually opening the package,
comprises placing a product inside the bag, sealing the bag closed,
shrinking the film around the product, manually initiating and manually
propagating the first and second tears, and readily removing the product
from the bag.