Co-Packing Solutions - April 2009 - (Page 10) ven in a down economy, customers continue to drive innovation as processors seek to differentiate themselves from the competition. Packing technology for sliced lunch meat is no different, evolving from press-to-close packaging to slide-zipper technology and then to plastic tubs with an inner pack. Now, Duncan, S.C.-based Sealed Air's Cryovac ® brand and West Liberty Foods of West Liberty, Iowa, have developed a new technology that takes the next step—a new food packaging that uses film technology to do the job. The new packaging was customer-driven, says Michael Quint, vice president and CCO at West Liberty Foods. West Liberty Foods formed in 1996, when the Oscar Mayer division of Phillip Morris announced it was closing the company’s West Liberty p ll a s to ho u co y es rt E their sliced meats. When Cryovac® showed us a new film in development at a trade show, we met at Sealed Air’s headquarters to review this new concept with our customer,” explains Quint. This new, state-of-the-art top film, in conjunction with a formed bottom film, met the consumer’s desire for a package ing but not limited to turkey, ham and roast beef. The new packaging “offers the benefits consumers today are looking for: it opens easily and can be resealed multiple times,” says Quint. Compared to many of the “re-sealable” packages in the marketplace today, the new technology actually uses less packaging to perform the job. “It’s unique in that it accomaccom plishes both of these attributes within the film itself,” explains Quint. “To open it, you simply grasp a corner and pull. To reseal, you just fold it back down— there’s no need for a zipper or a lid.” This package was designed for two different styles of sliced meats — shaved (rectangle bottom film) and thick-sliced (d-shaped bottom film). “The shaved product is dropped into an open bottom tray design, while the thick-sliced “To open it, you simply grasp a corner and pull. To reseal, you just fold it back down— there’s no need for a zipper or a lid.” — Michael Quint, vice president and CCO at West Liberty Foods plant. That year, forty-seven Iowabased turkey growers formed the Iowa Turkey Growers Cooperative (ITGC) and purchased the West Liberty, Iowa plant to do business as West Liberty Foods. “We’d been working with one of our main customers—a major national retailer—for sometime in the design of a new package for 10 • Co - PaCk ing S o lutio n S es W of e ib tl that was easy to open, re-sealable, and had a positive impact on the environment by using less film in the process. The packaging is available for sliced meat products in retail or club store applications, and can stand alone or be pegged. West Liberty packages many proteins with this new technology, includ- rt y o Fo ds is dropped into a formed cavity that conforms to the size of the slice,” Quint says. West Liberty performed extensive research before determining what form the packaging needed to take. “Before we determined the final package format, we reviewed existing packaging studies from a number of industry april 2009
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