There are special flaps on the cereal box that are also called tabs. They are present on the upper side of the box and are used to seal the box. Do they keep the cereal fresh? It depends on whether you ask this before or after opening the box.
Before opening
No, the tabs on the cereal box have no effect whatsoever on the freshness of the cereals which is packaged inside a plastic or paper pouch within the box. It is the quality of these pouches that has a major influence on the shelf life of cereals. The pouches inside the box are often fragile and easily punctured. The role of cereal boxes is to protect these pouches and the food products inside, and tabs are there to enable consumers to open boxes without the need of scissors or other tools.
After opening
Once a cardboard cereal box has been opened, flaps can have a little effect on freshness. Cereals are an integral part of breakfast for many people. Manufacturers have traditionally relied on cardboard boxes to package cereals. Earlier, consumer required tools (like scissors and cutters) to open these boxes. It was not convenient. Learning from pull tabs used in tin cans, cereal manufacturers created a new kind of cardboard boxes with flaps (or tabs). These flaps have made the task of opening cereal boxes more convenient. Although opening has been made easier, protecting cereals after opening the box remains a problem. Flaps open easily, but it is difficult to close them.
Alternative
Stand up pouches with gussets, tear notches, and other accessories provide a convenient way out of this problem. Gusseted stand up bags can support the weight of the product, and thus can stand up erect on store shelves – just like cardboard boxes. An advantage of these bags is that manufacturers do not have to spend on fragile pouches that are a hallmark of cereal cardboard boxes. So manufacturers can maintain the same level of freshness in their cereals at a lower price. StandUpPouches.net's custom printed stand up pouches cost around 15 cents apiece. This is less than half of the 35 cent price of a cereal cardboard box.
Use of accessories such as tear notches makes pouch bags as easy to open as cereal boxes with tabs. At the same time, the use of zippers enables consumers to reseal the pouches - and thus maintain freshness for a long period even after the pouch has been opened. StandUpPouches.net has a range of air-seal pouches which are ideal to keep cereal products (or any food product for that matter) fresh for a long period.