Read the original pizza saver patent application
The pizza saver was invented by a woman named Carmela Vitale, from Dix Hills, New York.
The patent for the invention was issued on February 12, 1985, two years after she had submitted a patent request for the item, which at the time she called the ‘package saver’.
Its purpose is to prevent the box from sagging down and crushing the pizza as a result of steam produced inside the box while it is in the process of being delivered.
It is successful because the plastic is the exact height of a pizza box, meaning that if the box is pushed down or bent during a delivery, the actual pie won’t be affected or harmed in the process.
The abstract for Carmela’s patent reads: ‘A temperature resistant molded plastic device is described for use in boxes or packages such as pizza boxes where there is a tendency of large cover portions to sag downwardly to damage the soft pizza or other pack aged products.
‘In use, the saver is positioned near the center of the package to support the box cover for protecting the contents.’
And, thanks to their being made of plastic, will live, forever, in dumps, oceans, and the stomachs of much marine life.
That’s why it’s nice when they replace the plastic saver with a dough ball!