The logic behind a bursting food pouch is easy to understand. If the air pressure inside a food pouch is greater than the air pressure of the surrounding atmosphere, the pouch will bloat up; and at a certain pressure, it will burst. This phenomenon is noticeable in food pouches used to package potato chips. They are filled with pressured nitrogen, which provides a cushion to fragile chips and keeps them intact until the packet is opened. Despite a high pressure inside, these standup pouches do not burst because there is a second factor at play.
Well designed pouches can bear pressure up to several atmospheres. If you are carrying these pouches in the airplane, chances are that they will not burst. StandUpPouches.net's custom printed pouches are made from extremely high quality materials, which is why they are puncture resistant.
The strength of a pouch and the type of food that is stored inside combine together to decide if a food pouch will burst during the flight. Liquid foods packaged in low quality or flight incapable pouches will almost certainly make you embarrassed. Solid foods packaged in high quality and flight capable pouches can easily withstand a journey across the Atlantic.
There are other reasons that can make a stand up pouch burst during a flight, although they are not major ones. Some such factors are extremely low atmospheric pressure due to bad weather, and poor handling.
For a common consumer – unless it is specifically mentioned on the pouch itself – it is very difficult to tell if a particular bag of food will burst during a flight. A way to know this is to contact either the pouch manufacturer, or the product vendor. They may be able to tell if their food pouches are flight capable. Many small manufacturers never bother to test their food pouches in a flight because it is an expensive test. So in many cases, even the manufacturers may not know. It is this uncertainty surrounding packages which lets many airports and airlines in the United States ban carrying food packages on planes.