MEAT+POULTRY - November 2024 - 76

MEAT PERSPECTIVES
Vacuum skin packaging
is widely used for retail
and foodservice.
atmospheric air from the package and seal it.
More sophisticated materials and equipment
have been developed over time, but the
fundamental process remains the same.
IBP began the Cattle-Pak seven-box style
boxed beef where carcasses were cut into
primals so that two boxes of rounds, two boxes
of loins, two boxes of chucks, and one box of
ribs were sold as a unit. Over time, the shifting
from primals to subprimals led to boxes
containing vacuum packaged ribeyes, strip
loins, inside rounds, chuck rolls, etc., allowing
customers to focus on cuts more suited to
their needs.
Cryovac-branded systems (bags and
equipment) have been a pioneer in this area
and still represent a great proportion of the
marketplace. For many vacuum-packaged
fresh meats, shrink bags go through a hot
water " shrink tunnel " where the heat causes
the bags to shrink and conform to the surface
of the meat. For many of the processed
products, non-heat shrink bags are used and
the package maintains its original dimensions
after vacuuming and sealing.
Vacuum packaging bone-in cuts presented
challenges with bone punctures resulting in a
loss of vacuum and " leakers. " Initially, waximpregnated
cheesecloth was used to cover
bones to reduce the chances of bag punctures.
Today it is common to see vacuum bags with
linings of thick layers of additional plastic
designed to prevent bone punctures and the
color of these often mimic the original yellow
color of this special cheesecloth.
RETAIL AND FOODSERVICE
PACKAGING SYSTEMS
Traditional retail packaging used plastic foam
trays overwrapped with polyvinyl chloride
76 MEAT+POULTRY | 11.24 | www.meatpoultry.com
(PVC) film. This film was oxygen permeable,
allowing the meat to stay in the bloomed
(oxygenated) state. Advances here include
the addition of rigid plastic trays that offer
recycling options compared to foam.
Roll stock vacuum packaging systems are
widely used for retail and foodservice. One
version of roll stock heats the bottom film
to produce a pocket where meat is placed in
the cavity and the top film is sealed to it after
a vacuum is drawn. Vacuum skin packaging
(VSP) is the opposite where the meat is
placed on the flat bottom layer and the top
film is heated and drawn over the meat before
vacuuming and sealing.
Europe led the way in using modified
atmosphere packaging (MAP) where meat is
placed in oversized bottom trays, atmospheric
air is removed, and combinations of oxygen
(75% to 80%, to maintain color) and carbon
dioxide (20% to 25%, to inhibit bacterial
growth) are backflushed before a top layer is
applied to seal the package. The headspace
required for the modified atmosphere results in
packages being larger than the meat inside.
The most common system for retail
case-ready is the master-packaged PVCoverwrapped.
This system is where retail cuts
are packaged in PVC-overwrapped on plastic
foam or rigid plastic trays. The packaged cuts
are placed in a master bag, the air is evacuated,
and the bag is backflushed with a combination
of three gases: 60% nitrogen (a filler gas); 39.6%
carbon dioxide (inhibits bacterial growth), and
0.4% carbon monoxide (maintains color). The
retailer opens the master package and places
cuts in the meat cases where they appear much
like traditional cuts prepared in the backroom.
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS
We see more specialty products such as lamb,
veal, bison, organic, and grassfed marketed
using case-ready packaging technologies to
capitalize on these low volume, high margin
cuts. Case-ready packaging of ground beef
offers consumers a vast array of different
blends, lean-to-fat ratios, and product sizes.
Retailers can offer multiple products without
having to worry that they may be in the case
for longer times.
The meat industry of today looks different
from the past, and we must thank those who
decided that the future was plastics.
Julian Peters Photos - stock.adobe.com
http://www.meatpoultry.com
MEAT+POULTRY - November 2024

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