In its response to what consumers, retailers and the trade need and desire, the packaging industry has come up with a large bandwidth of innovative packaging materials, equipment systems and technologies for the most various meat and sausage products placed in trays, shrink or vacuum bags or in MAP (modified atmosphere packaging) packaging units. A factor of prime importance in all the above is the packaged products’ visual appearance their eye appeal, that is. Thin but nonetheless resistant film or foil sheeting is used to present meat and sausage products in their most appetizing perspective, imparting shoppers with a sense of products packed fresh just now.
Thanks to vacuum technology, it is possible to maintain products’ aromatic flavor, good taste and fresh appearance over a longer period of time. Turning to price labeling of ready-packed products, manufacturers offer solutions where each retail product’s correct price by weight is determined for each individual pack, and where that pricing is then printed, together with other relevant information, onto a customer-specific label. As such, labels and printable packaging film supply consumers with important information about the products so packaged.
In addition, manufacturers are setting ever higher store by developing ever more efficiently operating packaging machinery systems, in which connection the focus is also on automization of packaging processes. By way of combining several equipment units, or by consolidating several other relevant workflow processes into one single machine operation, time as well as cost and effort can be saved.
Packaging as desired
Coextruded hard and soft film or foil, laminated compound packaging film with high-value imprints, prefabricated trays and bags: Südpack of Ochsenhausen, Germany, has the complete spectrum of plastic packaging solutions in its overall range. According to its own information, the company places great value on the continued further development of multilayered soft film/foil packaging material which, in turn, continues to gain in general importance as a resource-sparing alternative. It is in particular the thinner films with extremely high tear and pierce resistance, excellent transparency and high-level barrier properties that the manufacturer views as a specialty. Another Südpack focal point comes in the form of film or foil-type tray covers. These can, for instance, be provided with a special so-called drum effect intended to provide for a good view of the product inside. Over and above that, universal sealing media based on mono-APET and Alu sealing, or foils with integrated steam cooking function are also part of the range being offered. With its competency centers for flexographic as well as gravure printing, Südpack views itself as a competent partner for imparting products with a specific visual effect. Twelve gravure printing colors which, thanks to a front and reverse side turning cross, are printed with maximum repeat accuracy, and ten flexoprint colors as well as matte varnish and laminates with fleece and paper offer a wide enough field of action in order for the right product outfit to be found. Just which type of packaging is most suitable is a subject matter which customers and Südpack specialists are jointly working on in the company’s own development center, in order for the best solution to be found.
New multi-layer packagings
- picture: Variovac A multi-layer packaging benefit: the customer can open the individual layers one after another. full size
Mirotech, for many years now the exclusive partner of Zarrentin, Germany-based Variovac in Belgium and in the Netherlands, has installed the first Variovac-Multipower MLP packaging machine in the Belgian market for the Jan Dupont Kaas cheese manufacturer in Brugge (Bruges), Belgium. With its headquarters in Brugge, Jan Dupont Kaas is one of the biggest Belgian cheese processors, offering an assortment of more than 170 cheese varieties in its overall range. Counting among the company’s customers are supermarket chains as well as smaller cheese dealers. With the Variovac MLP system installed, Jan Dupont Kaas offers its customers a new self-service packaging format: the cut up cheese is packaged under a protective gas atmosphere in two layers, each containing several slices of cheese. In that setup, each layer comes as its own portion pack of equal weight. The benefit of this novel multi-layer packaging presents itself, as the manufacturer explains, by virtue of the fact that the ultimate customer can open the individual layers one by one for successive consumption. Which means that the not opened layer of cheese slices will keep its minimum shelf life with the best-used-by date unchanged. The overall packaging process in the Brugge plant is fully automatic: via a slicer, the equal-weight slices are recorded by cameras and accurately placed by robots into a Variovac-Multipower input area exactly as needed. As final note, 28 Delhaize supermarkets in the Brussels area are already being supplied with this novel cheese cold cut packaging.
Hygiene inside and out
- picture: Multivac Coming with a new design, these deep-drawing machines offer fast and simple cleaning. full size
The new deep-drawing machine generation from Multivac of Wolfertschwenden, Germany, is distinguished by an entirely new hygienic design which, as the company points out, has been developed to simplify and accelerate the cleaning process. As such, food production companies can exercise more control over their own assurance of a hygienic machine standard achieving that extra with reduced cost and effort at that. These equipment units have also been certified by the German foodstuffs trade industry organization in accordance with hygiene and sanitation requirements laid down in the DIN 1672-2 standard. Turning to a special design feature now available in the marketplace, the manufacturer emphasizes the fact that construction components in the interior of these deep-drawing machines have been consistently optimized in such a way that design features right for a hygienic setup are being put in place including cables and hoses as well as motors and vacuum pumps. Yet another novelty comes with the open design of the chain and chain guidance: thanks to this patent-protected new design feature, dirt and contaminations can now be completely removed from these places with greater ease as well, as Multivac indicates, adding that this is now possible without the need to disassemble the chain. The entire concept is also supported by an optional “Clean in Place” technology available for types R 535 and R 245: With the CIP system in place, automatic and reproducible chemical cleaning of these construction groupings in the overall system’s interior has now become a practical possibility which, in turn, is emphasized to reduce the cost and labor effort while at the same time increasing the machine’s useful lifetime. The new Multivac deep-draw packaging machines are available for all practical use and performance categories, from the high-performance equipment unit R 535 via the flexible type R 245 and the compact R 145 units, and all the way to the economy model R 125. In addition to that, the company’s equipment models for Cryovac-Darfresh skin packaging are also available in the novel design format; and in order to simplify the exchange of those frequently heavy and large forming plates and to minimize necessary changeover times, Multivac also offers an optional new form plate changeover system for fully automatic and program-controlled forming tool retooling.
Technology for pros
- picture: Helmut Boss The single-chamber machine type EK 1000 comes with a smooth chamber bottom and an infinitely variable transportation belt. full size
With its home base in Bad Homburg, Germany, Helmut Boss produces a great number of vacuum packaging machines for professional use.
Turning to the meat products industry with its high-level packaging needs, packaging solutions are offered in cases where vacuum chamber machines with automatic product output are being used, with the company’s single chamber machine type EK 1000 one example. Mounted on that model’s smooth chamber floor is the transportation belt which, offering infinitely variable height adjustment, automatically removes the vacuum-packaged product from the machine. for instance moving it over into the shrink submerging tank ATT 77/3 D Super, where the packaging bag is being shrunk around the product. As the manufacturer also points out, the vacuum machine’s transportation belt can be completely removed from the chamber, for instance when extremely tall products are up for packaging, or in case the machine itself is up for thorough cleaning. The automatic shrink submersion tank ATT 77/3 D Super also offers work-facilitating functions as a part of its standard equipment, including an integrated time switch clock for submersion tank preheating, an automatic water refilling function and/or a program storage system.
In addition to the electric standard version, a steam heating version is also being offered in cases where a steam production system is already in place. And to properly address specific customer requirements, the company’s vacuum packaging machines as well as the shrink submersion tanks can also be offered in special sizes or as especially customized models.
Packaging in line
- picture: Inauen This ground meat packaging line lives up to industrial processors’ needs and requirements. full size
When it comes to packaging large quantities, automation can be used to accelerate the process. Automatic loading and unloading are contributing to higher efficiency as much as powerful pumping systems, a sophisticated vacuum technology and temperature-controlled sealing. And it is in particular when shrink bags are being used, that optimum fine-tuning of entire vacuum shrink lines, including shrink tanks and driers, turns out to be a highly important factor. For industrial production plants, Inauen of Herisau, Switzerland, has the new K7 model and the already established VC999 K8 in its range both coming as fully automatic units with a continuous flow belt. In the industrial process environment, high performance, process integration and reliability are ranking among the most important factors.
Inauen’s big automatic tray sealing systems attain capacities of up to 6,000 trays per hour under a protective atmosphere, as the company points out in its product statement, adding that the automatic tray sealer type VC999 TS2500 does, for example, check in as an in-line machine.
Depending upon specific needs and requirements, packaging units made in the MAP process turn out as skin-type or simply sealed tray packs. The linear machine concept allows peripheral units such as stackers, metering systems, printers, codifiers, labelers, metal detectors or weighing scales to be integrated, as the manufacturer indicates in its product statement. VC999 automatic deep-draw packaging systems of the RS type are applied to practical use where large product quantities of similar shape and size are being packaged. The packaging itself is formed from flexible film or foil drawn from a reel, with that process taking place no sooner than in the machine itself, in order for packaging material and logistics costs to be reduced. As the company also points out, these machines enable processors to package large production quantities thanks to multiple-use tools and high cycling rates. Over and above that, the integration of such systems as automatic metering devices, fillers, labelers, printers, or printed films or foils, is thereby becoming a simple and efficient option.
Fast and flexible
- picture: Komet The new S 910 B model can be used to package products in a short time, efficiently and with a low personnel requirement. full size
The new Sprinter model from Komet of Plochingen, Germany, is smaller and more compact than other deep-drawing systems offered in the marketplace. While that is so, customers purchasing this Sprinter model must not do without operating convenience, as the manufacturer states, but also pointing out that thanks to an overall length of only 2.6 m it fits into small rooms as well. But while small in size, this Sprinter’s large material input area assures efficient operation, to quote from Komet’s own product statement, where it is also indicated that vario-tooling allows the machine to be used for different products with great flexibility. Fast format changeover is also indicated to be possible, with film or foil changeover done “in a jiffy”, in practically no time, that is. In the company’s own words, this Sprinter is about five times faster than a chamber machine, while also offering a new hydraulic lift system reducing compressed air consumption as another distinctive feature.
As Komet furthermore indicates, the new system not only allows a high press-on pressure, but also makes for maintenance-free input supply of the forming and sealing station as well as for a crosswise cutting option. The hydraulic oil used is as clear as water, without smell and neutral to taste, compatible with foodstuffs and, fully corresponding to FDA and USDA guidelines, without any risk to human health.
Also new from Komet is the automatic continuous-flow S 910 B continuous-flow chamber machine with conveyor belt. This particular vacuum packaging unit has been conceived for efficient packaging of large as well small products coming in great quantities. Transported on the integrated conveyor belt, products are automatically moved from the input to the output line; and products of up to 1,000 mm in size can be packaged in the machine’s vacuum chamber, as the company states, adding that the mode of operation can be changed over from “automatic” to “manual” and vice versa. When operation is automatic, two welding jaws with 1,000 mm length each are available, while yet another 530 mm welding jaw can also be put into use, with that option allowing this model to be universally employed for all types of applications, as Komet emphasizes. In addition to the above, and again quoting from the manufacturer’s own product statements, the belt speed can also be adjusted to meet both, the operator’s and the given product’s needs. For extra protection, the vacuum pump itself is accommodated in a stainless steel housing which, being part of the machine, is a subunit that is also easy to clean.
Complete solutions with a system
- picture: CFS Bringing fresh meat into shape: the Shrinkpak system. full size
With its “Lifecycle Performance” assurance, CFS of Bakel, the Netherlands, offers its customers newly developed packaging solutions, such as pasteurization inside the pack for long keepability, steam-cooking in the microwave, shrink packs made on a thermoformer, and the so-called Hole-in-the-Wall concept for a plant’s internal tray production. Quoting from the manufacturer’s own product statements, CFS packaging materials and systems also contribute to reduce environmental load factors (i.e. the CO2 load) by way of packaging across the entire life cycle.
With C-base and exbase, polypropylene-based hard foils with EVOH barrier and PE or PP sealing medium that is, pasta products and various sausage varieties such as bratwurst-type frankfurter sausages, Swiss-type Berner Würstl sausages and barbecue sausages can be pasteurized inside the pack under varying conditions. In which context, CFS explicitly points to good deep-drawing properties on existing thermoformers as one of the material’s highly important properties.
Steam-cooking has become an increasingly popular trend as a result of the fact that, with this process, foods are heated or cooked to readiness in a particularly gentle and careful manner. And it is for this particular market segment, that CFS has developed a new packaging solution: the company’s Steam-Cook-System comprises a thermoformer and a hard foil as the bottom layer, as well as a flexible film or foil layer for the top. The exbase and C-base bottom layers are based on polypropylene and are hence suitable for packaging microwaveable products. And it is with this system that CFS holds out the promise of numerous advantages to both, manufacturers of ready-to-eat foods and side dishes, as well as to the products’ final consumers. Thanks to the patent-protected CFS steam duct, the top film/foil or layer must no longer be perforated a benefit also touted to prevent splashing inside the microwave. And as the manufacturer furthermore indicates, the gentle and sparing cooking process also allows vitamins inside the product to remain intact. Continuing with the company’s own product statement, the PowerpakNT thermoformer also lets users make a fast and easy changeover to other formats. Whenever products are to be presented in a perfect form and shape, CFS recommends its shrink pack system stated to offer the benefits of an automized and continual thermoformer-based packaging process combined with all the shrink-foil or -film advantages. Given a shrink of up to 40 percent and the high barrier properties, this system is emphasized to come up with an attractive product presentation coupled with a long keepability or shelf life guarantee. And as CFS additionally confirms, the shrink pack system makes all of the above possible for numerous applications, irrespective of whether the products in question are round, square or rectangular. As such, the CFS shrink pack system is also intended to illustrate the actual meaning of “Lifecycle Performance”: i.e. comprehensive support of food manufacturers from their first idea all the way to the point of everyday series production, including a solution of all problems encountered enroute to that point in time.
One of the packaging systems where CFS wants to convert this promise into real life action is the Hole-in-the-Wall concept. To explain, this system consists of a tray former, packaging material, technical support from CFS, and the company’s customer service. The actual idea behind this concept being that food manufacturers must no longer take care of tray procurement themselves but that, instead, CFS produces them with its people on pertinent equipment, doing so in the respective food manufacturer’s plant.
Keeping freshness in shape
- picture: Kuchler Electronics The fully automatic S.A.M. P2 can optionally also be equipped with weighing scales and electronic price labeling. full size
S.A.M. cold-cut and packaging systems from Kuchler Electronics of Klagenfurt, Austria, check in as the solution in such cases where, as the manufacturer explains, fresh packaging without gasification and vacuum is desired as would be the case with sausages and hard cheese, but also with large hams, prosciutto ham or mortadella sausage. To further quote from the company’s own statement, the special point in the thus produced ham or multi-freshness packs comes with the individually separated layers (up to three per pack) which, without the use of additional auxiliary agents, bring about a prolonged shelf life or keepability of fresh cold cuts. And as is furthermore stated, these packs can be easily opened and their contents then taken out just as needed. What Kuchler views as a great advantage compared to other solutions is the fact that unopened layers remain untouched, meaning that no bacteria can be introduced as is otherwise possible by way of skin or breathing air contact. This type of packaging can be considered for different fields of application, for instance when creating mixed cold-cut plates, including those for customers using small amounts only, bearing in mind that it has been particularly conceived for use in single-person households.
Turning to further advantages, Kuchler Electronics points to ease of transportation, to the benefit that fanned slices are ready to be served, and to the fact that the layers are not sticking to one another, and that the special transparent packaging film makes for a clearer view of what is inside the refrigerator. Recycling this packaging material is via the yellow trash can, as specified for recyclable waste. In the industrial field, it is mostly the cold cut and packaging line S.A.M. P2 that is being used for (continuous) operation; a fully automatic system in any case, it can optionally also be equipped with weighing scales and an electronic PAZ price labeling system.
Automatically more productive
- picture: Poly-clip System The new FCA 160 Automatic Double-Clipper operates faster and more efficiently. full size
When it comes to sausage manufacturing, the new Automatic Double-Clipper FCA 160 from Poly-clip System of Frankfurt/Main, Germany, is claimed to do the job faster, more efficiently, and with greater flexibility. As the manufacturer explains, its efficiency with respect to the calibre range results from the new voiding separator, from the tighter new clip, as well as from the simplicity of system changeover whenever a product change occurs. As such, Poly-clip promises dynamics, fast performance and reliability as furthermore supported by the degree of automation. Thanks to the newly conceived voiding separator and an entirely new clip generation, the clip-closure itself is even tighter. And as the company also points out, the new form of clip results in a symmetric pleating of the casing, with the clip itself, when closed, offering a greater firm holding strength as well. All of those factors are resulting in a longer shelf-life and, technically speaking, up to a bacteria-proof closing, always depending upon the type of casing, however. With the pleasing and short sausage shoulders, the sausage itself turns out to offer even greater eye appeal. The combination of the new voiding separator and the new form of clip translates to more slices per sausage and, as a result, to higher yield and profit. With this rate of clip-closing speed, Poly-clip is out to set a new standard in the large casing diameter segment, pointing to the fact the FCA 160 closes all plastic, fibrous or collagen casings at a rate of up to 160 cycles per minute, depending on the casing’s caliber. Always depending upon the product and type of casing, that performance can be individually adjusted, with the caliber range as such also offering a higher degree of flexibility and productivity: With a bandwidth of 38160 mm, this Automatic Double-Clipper can be universally used for a broad product range, as the company emphasizes. The FCA 160 can, if desired, also be delivered with a continuous process control system with respect to all selected recipe parameters. Which in practical terms means that the automatic system itself checks whether the proper clips are available, and whether or not the clip and the die in place fit together. In addition, clip-closing pressure and the size of the voiding separator opening also come under control. In case deviations regarding the stored parameters should occur, the control unit will either make the necessary correction itself, or inform the operator by way of a message which, in turn, must be overwritten or confirmed which is then protocol-recorded and can hence be readily identified and replicated at any time. As for another point, input to the clip strip feed and by clip monitoring accelerate product startup, implement addition and product changeover. As the manufacturer points out, all these functions accelerate the overall filling/stuffing and closing process which, in turn, makes for maximum workfloor efficiency.
In order to make sure that the optimum adjustments cannot be inadvertently changed by mistake, the control system intelligently separates the operations setup and service level with a password. As a result of the automatic, consumption-oriented central lubrication system, the clip-closing machine’s wear and tear is to be reduced, with the elimination of avoidable standstill times and lesser maintenance effort making for maximum process and investment safety, as the manufacturer underscores in its final statement.
Added value in the C-class
- picture: Tipper Tie The SwipperC offers flexible production coupled with a high safety standard. full size
Flexibility in production runs coupled with a high level safety standard that is the essence of what Tipper Tie Alpina of Gossau, Switzerland, promises to be achieved with its SwipperC system. To quote from the manufacturer’s own statement, that system involves a modern packaging technology for hosebags that can be used for efficient and clean closing of all familiar plastic, fiber and collagen casings in the 20 to 80 mm caliber range at a rate of up to 130 cycles per minute. With system changeover to a clip division range from 1512 mm, individualized use options and flexibility over the entire range of calibers are enhanced, as the company points out, adding that the SwipperC can also be connected to all customary filling machines currently in use. More specifically, it will close portions, turning them into individual, chained or ringed sausages, without any residual matter remaining in the sausage tips. In addition to that, the SwipperC can, as the manufacturer points out, also be used as a suitable closing system for semi-finished confectionaries, cheese, soups or non-food products. The electronic clip-closing power surveillance system NewCon (Newton Control) prevents equipment damaging in case of wrongful manipulation. In case the set limitation of the closing force should be reached, the unit’s safety system is automatically activated, so that the machine is stopped as a result. As such, NewCon is a safety system designed to enhance production safety. The clip-closing height can be reproducibly adjusted, with the effective clip-closing force being indicated on the display. Over to the construction side, the machine itself is totally corrosion-free, with the drive lever made of non-corroding steel-cast material. The SwipperC also comes with a maintenance-free servo drive, SPS control included, and unit operation is via touchscreen. The operating system with graphic visualization shows the complete text alphanumerically in different countries’ official languages. So it is also in this way and manner that Tipper Tie wants to leave no desires in terms of convenience, hygiene and efficiency unfulfilled.
To furthermore quote from the manufacturer’s own statements, the SwipperC offers a high degree of maintenance and service friendliness, with smooth, non-corroding surfaces without any screw or bolt heads or dirt collecting corners, and with horizontal surfaces showing a three-degree angle, all representing constructional elements intended to guarantee fast and hygienic cleaning. With the complete system coming from one single manufacturer i.e. Swipper, clips, loops and labels trouble-free production and enhanced safety are guaranteed. Alloy, profile and dimensional accuracy are also emphasized to additionally enhance the quality of Eco-clips. In its closing statement, Tipper Tie Alpina points to the Eco-clip carrier system which, with reusable rolls, is stated to contribute to a reduction in disposal costs; and turning to the hoses available in various colors, the company also points to the fact that, when clip-closing is in process, these are removed from the carrier belt without any residues remaining.
Freshness twice as long
MAP (modified atmosphere packaging), in other words foodstuffs packaging under a protective atmosphere, is an effective as well as an intelligent concept for minimizing losses in product freshness and quality. With this objective in mind, Linde Gas of Pullach, Germany, has developed its MAPAX concept intended to make sure that meat processors always have a solution at hand which is fine-tuned to their own specific needs to an optimum degree.
To quote from the company’s own statement, MAPAX is a tailor-made MAP concept that processors can use to come to grips with the entire packaging process: from product handling and processing via hygiene and sanitation, and furthermore from temperature, and packaging materials properties all the way to the proper gas mixture. With the assist of highly purified gases and suitable packaging materials and equipment, foodstuffs quality is emphasized to be maintained over a long period of time, with their specific keepability/best-used-by dates being extended. In practical terms, this translates to the following: with the proper mix employed, keepability of meat products packaged ready for the retail counter can, as a matter for fact, even be doubled.
MAPAX Gas is, as such, based on close cooperation between the suppliers of packaging materials, packaging machinery and packaging gases. The purpose of this cooperation being that requirements in terms of efficient and cost-favorable foodstuffs packaging, coupled with constant product quality, are being fulfilled over the entire distribution chain, thereby making sure that food products, as such attractively packaged, arrive on the refrigerated storage shelves appetizingly fresh and with a long storage life.
What is emphasized as a final point is that ISO 22000 certification guarantees adherence to all relevant food legislative regulations as concern gases and gas mixtures of the BIOGON range.
