Our meat, poultry, and cheese customers have the same priorities. They want to maximize shelf-life, maintain food safety, reduce food waste and minimize their environmental impact. One simple way to achieve this is with the right packaging. Shrink bags protect your meat and cheese products throughout distribution while still letting the quality show through at retail.

In this Q&A, Rosalia Rosalinova, Senior Marketing Manager Amcor Flexibles EMEA, answers some common questions about shrink bags for the European market, the importance of more sustainable shrink bag packaging, and why the poultry market is one to watch.

1.What considerations are made when developing a new shrink bag?

From years of collaboration with meat and cheese customers, Amcor has a lot of experience packaging fresh and processed meat, poultry, meat alternatives, and cheese of all shapes and sizes.

The first things we consider when developing a shrink bag solution are:
● What product are we packaging?
○ Is it fresh meat, pork, beef, processed meat, poultry, or cheese?
○ If it’s cheese, is it low-, medium- or high-respiring?
● What is the shape of the product?
○ If it’s meat, does it have bones?
○ If it’s cheese, does it have rough edges?
● What machine is the customer using?

Meat products have a very complex journey from farm to consumer. There is a lot of transportation involved and high risk of meat getting spoiled or contaminated on route. A shelf life of up to 60-90 days is required from manufacturer to home consumption. Every year 88 million tons of fresh food are thrown away in Europe - 14% of which is meat.(1) That’s why it’s so important to choose packaging that provides exceptional abrasion resistance during transport, storage and distribution. Better product protection reduces food that goes to the bin and the negative environmental impact of that food waste.

2. Do you have specific packaging adapted to Poultry?

The poultry market is definitely one to watch, growing by 3.6% per year in retail sales (compared to 1% growth for the total meat market) across Europe. In a recent study, 52% of UK, 51% of German, 50% of Italian, and 47% of French consumers said they eat chicken at least once per week.

When it comes to poultry the number one complaint at retail related to whole-bird packaging is leaking packages. Leaking packages create frustration for consumers as well as retailers, as it contributes to food waste and an overall unpleasant experience. If a poultry packaging shows signs of a leak, the average consumer will not purchase it no matter how fresh it may be.

Shrink bags for poultry prevent leakage and provide consumer convenience. Higher quality digital printing also helps processors connect with customers to tell the story behind their product. Digital printing can help brands communicate info consumers are interested in, such as on animal welfare and locally produced meat.

3. What does it mean for packaging to be PVdC-free and what are the benefits?

Sustainability is a first concern for many brand owners. In a recent study conducted with 20 of our biggest protein customers, 44% said that sustainability is their top packaging priority, followed by shelf-life. More than two-thirds (69%) said sustainability is the first thing they consider when looking for shrink bags and 75% said they wanted a recyclable shrink bag solution as soon as possible. This demonstrates why Amcor’s Eco-Tite® R, the first in market recyclable PVdC-free shrink bag, is an increasingly popular choice.

Historically in shrink packaging, PVdC (Polyvinylidene Chloride) has been the primary material used for the oxygen barrier. Fresh meat is packed in wet and humid environments, so a reliable oxygen barrier is essential - and PVdC is very effective for this. However, PVdC isn’t recyclable and it can contaminate the recycling streams if uninformed consumers attempt to return it for recycling.

We focused our development on a shrink bag that could provide all the protection needed for fresh meat without PVdC. Eco-Tite R® is a PE-based high barrier shrink bag suitable for fresh red meat, pre-cooked meats and cheese. Eco-Tite® R has been independently evaluated by cyclos-HTP and certified for recycling in the PE stream in several European countries. Also in our recyclable portfolio for proteins is our Cook-Tite ® shrink bag. Cook-Tite® shrink bags for whole muscle roast beef, molded hams and cooked turkey breast ensure safe processing and distribution of cooked meat products.

4. What about shrink bags for products with unusual shapes or rough surfaces?

For products that require high puncture and abrasion resistance, Amcor offers solutions like ClearShield™ PRO, which is designed specifically for bone-in, hard surface products.

These high-abuse packaging solutions provide excellent seal properties and reduce costs by preventing leaks without sacrificing product appeal. Thanks to its high clarity, gloss, printability and good contouring characteristics, ClearShield PRO offers a striking product presentation for retail. A range of seal types is available to further enhance appearance. All Amcor’s shrink bags are printable so cheese and meat brands can catch their consumers’ attention with striking, wrinkle-free packaging.

5. How do you ensure that whole cheese has no changes in texture or flavour when packaged?

High shrink maximizes the shelf life of hard and semi-hard cheese while giving the best possible retail appearance to the packed product. We have a wide range of cheese bags with different OTR (oxygen transfer rates), including PVdC-free options. We have bags for low-gassing and high-gassing cheese, and we can make the bags in any shape, depending on product needs.

6. How does Amcor work with customers?

We have packaging engineers and food scientists who collaborate with brands to develop the most suitable packaging for them. Our in-house shrink bag converting facility enables us to meet our customers’ demands for consistent and fast turn-around times, custom sizes, full colour flexo printing or single colour stamp printing, short run productions and bulk delivery batching. We also offer sustainability services, such as consultation with our experts and our packaging life-cycle assessment tool, ASSET™ which measures the carbon footprint of a brand’s existing packaging and compares this to more sustainable packaging options to help make fact-based decisions.

Learn more about the European launch of Eco-Tite R, the first designed to be recycled, PVdC-free shrink bag for fresh and processed meat, poultry and some cheeses.

Source:

1. Stenmarck, Å., et al. Estimates of European food waste levels. Report from the EU FUSIONS project.