Meat + Poultry - April 2009 - 115

package," Williams says. That prototype was unsuccessful because the seal
was compromised if product ran across
the resealable surface. "Whether it was
moisture or fat from the product, it hindered the reliability and the robustness
of the technology," he adds. Since then,
the company developed a more rigorous sealing surface.

Building a better
mousetrap
With press-to-close zippers, reliability
was often an issue, resulting in costly
reworks at the processing plant, outof-stock product at the retail level and
inconvenience for consumers. Slidezipper technology was the next evolution of press-to-seal packaging, at least
until consumers demonstrated a penchant for an option offering a ﬂ exible
package inside a resealable, lidded tub,
which could also be reused. According
to consumer research commissioned by
the packaging ﬁrm, however, a surplus
of tubs often became a bother consumers didn't want.
"With our approach, we offer that
same ease of access to the product in
the package and all the reseal features
are right there on the package," says
Williams. "And they are robust in that
they can be resealed multiple times and
have an aggressive seal for the life of the
product." Multi-Seal also offers tamperevident attributes, which beneﬁts the
entire food chain.
While the earlier technologies required customization to be made on the
packaging machinery to accommodate
various applications of zipper and pressto-close packages, Multi-Seal uses the
same size opening with the only variance being the depth of the container.
Customization and retooling machinery
during production equates to downtime,
which processors shun. "Along with that
customization comes more opportunities
for rework." With the tub-style packaging, processors are faced with the additional expense of separate materials
that must be loaded, assembled and
sealed, adding production steps and
supply costs. The solution involves providing processors with a roll of ﬁlm that
is compatible with widely used, existing
packaging machines. Using that one roll
of ﬁlm, processors can realize all of the

beneﬁts of the former technologies without the added time, ﬂoor space and expense. "That allows for increased speedto-market with a new product," without
necessarily investing in new machinery,
Williams says. And when it comes to
new-product development, time is often and unnecessarily the enemy. "Our
processor customers want a new package and they want it very quickly. This
allows us to deliver that better than we
have in the past."
Initially the applications for Multi-Seal

The goal is to give
customers tools that
save time behind the
scenes by eliminating
waste and helping
consumers add time
to each day.
were limited to processed and sliced
meats, but the technology to package fresh
meats is not out of the question. Retailers
also have the beneﬁt of displaying MultiSeal products either ﬂat in a cofﬁn case or
hanging from a peg board.
Another merchandising feature is the

packaging allows for 10-color, high-quality graphics to be applied directly to the
ﬁlm. This gives the manufacturer the opportunity to dazzle consumers with eyecatching graphics while including simple
opening directions right on the container.
"We are able to deliver that all in one roll
of ﬁlm. We hope some customers will
develop a brand identity around this,"
capitalizing on the printability of the material, says Williams.
Printing directly on the ﬁlm eliminates
the tedious step of applying adhesivebacked labels and minimizes rework.
Labeling is one of the weakest links in
most plants where Performance Essentials' Miller advises processors on eliminating waste. "If someone asks me where
is the most time spent or wasted in the
hidden factory and I had to pick something, I would say the labelers; someone
is always having to adjust the labelers and
too often someone is always having to rip
open a package [for rework] because a
label is out of alignment or is applied to
the wrong part of the package, for example," he says. This, Miller adds, is a golden
opportunity for most processors. "Labeling is a huge waste of time in almost all
of the plants I've been in."
"We've simpliﬁed the packaging process by delivering everything in one roll
of ﬂat ﬁlm," Williams concludes. ■

MultiSeal™

Multi-Seal technology
provides processors and
consumers with beneﬁts
that are not available with
zipper and press-to-close
packaging options.
www.cryovac.com

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April 2009

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PACKAGING MATTERS

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http://www.cryovac.com
Meat + Poultry - April 2009

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