Tray suppliers are improving production efficiency, providing a point of difference on the shelf and enhancing the quality of products, while driving new trends.
Over the last decade there has been a notable shift in the way meat is packed for display in supermarkets. Traditionally meat has been packed at the back of stores, using foam (expanded polystyrene) trays that are either wrapped with PVC film manually or by machine.
However, Huhtamaki, a supplier of trays to food manufacturers since the 1980s, anticipates that the continuing trend towards the industrialisation of meat packing in Australia will result in approximately 60% of meat products being centrally packed in the next few years.
If products are to be centrally packed and shipped to stores around the country, a sturdy packaging format that can preserve food for a greater length of time is required.
The move towards case-ready packaging, as opposed to foam trays, is being fuelled by economic motives as retailers’ recognise the advantages of centralised production over maintaining facilities in each of a growing number of stores.
Advances in automatic tray sealing equipment, and its increasing accessibility, has also been a factor.
Polypropylene trays
Packaging suppliers have introduced a range of polypropylene (PP) case-ready trays for fresh poultry and red meat onto the market that are more suited to centralised packing facilities than their foam counterparts.
The mono PP modified atmosphere packaging trays, produced at Huhtamaki’s Albury site, consist of a single layer of PP which is flushed with a gas before it is sealed, extending the shelf life of the meat.
The gas mix typically consists of 20% oxygen and 80% carbon dioxide which extends the shelf life of the meat from between two and four days to between five and eight days, while making it visually appealing to consumers.
“The carbon dioxide slows down the bacterial action and aging of the meat, enabling it to be kept longer in supermarkets, and the oxygen reacts with the blood in the meat, giving it a healthy red colour which is a signifier of freshness to the consumer,” Huhtamaki market manager, freshfoods, Daniel Davis said.
Unlike high barrier PP trays that use an ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH) laminated layer to contain the gas, Huhtamaki’s trays are easier to recycle because they do not contain a mixture of plastics, provide the same amount of preservation and shelf life, and are also less expensive.
“The mono PP does not have as good a barrier as the EVOH trays but by virtue of the trays’ thickness and the time the meat sits on the shelf, it has been proven to deliver the same shelf life performance which is a significant achievement,” Davis said.
According to Huhtamaki, the majority of industrial meat packers in Europe have moved from using EVOH trays to mono PP which offer a more favourable cost : functionality ratio.
European trends hit Australia
Being established in northern Europe has given Huhtamaki a competitive edge by being able to bring products from those markets into Australia.
The company is currently trialling its European PP ProMeat trays with major meat processors after tests conducted by a microbiological testing company revealed the trays’ functionality and performance are equal to existing alternatives on the market.
While having many of the benefits of PP trays, including shelf life performance and recyclability, the PP top-seal tray range has a narrower sealing flange and straighter side walls, providing up to 20% greater space efficiency, increasing profits with lower logistics costs and maximising space in retail display cases.
Production efficiency is improved by the tray design which incorporates alternating ABC stacking shoulders to ensure consistent high-speed denesting.
The option of having trays supplied pre-padded also eliminates this step in production.
“The ProMeat trays offer products a point of difference on the shelf as they feature a soft ribbed design in place of the heavily ribbed, more industrial look of the current trays,” Davis said.
Looking forward, retailers will continue to drive the trend of adopting centralised case-ready packaging within the meat industry.
Benefits of barrier trays
Cryovac, suppliers of specialty packaging systems technology to the food industry, believe the case-ready packaging format is beneficial to retailers that do not have to incur the additional costs of back-of-store packaging and can increase shelf space.
Consumers also benefit from being able to purchase a quality product that is leak proof, easy to use and visually appealing, and that has been manufactured in dedicated plants with very strict quality assurance and hygiene procedures.
Cryovac’s LidSys is a rigid barrier tray made of high impact polystyrene or polypropylene that is laminated with a multi-layer barrier sealant liner.
The barrier layer increases the barrier performance of the tray, extending product shelf life, and allows a multi-layer barrier shrink film to be fitted to the rim of the tray.
Benefits of the shrink lidding film include being low gauge and therefore having a reduced impact on the environment, having good yields so there are less reel changes, and having more metres on a roll so warehousing stock control is easier.
As a result of heating the film around the sealing edges, the film shrinks and is able to be pulled tightly across the tray.
“So you end up with a drum-tight effect on top, great clarity and sparkle because of the high quality and low gauge of the film, great production efficiency through the plant, anti-fog performance and a pack that is leak proof,” Cryovac national sales manager, food solutions, Gareth Reynolds said.
Both Huhtamaki and Cryovac’s range of trays have their benefits.
Whichever option is chosen, however, one thing is certain: case-ready packaging is here to stay.
Contacts:
Huhtamaki: Daniel Davis
www.huhtamaki.com
Cryovac: Gareth Reynolds
www.sealedair.com
Add a comment