COOK-IN PACKAGING Curwood Cook-Tite cook-in shrink bags. (Photo courtesy of Curwood Inc.) Curwood Inc., Oshkosh, Wis., is seeing some increase in demand for cook-in materials. "With the current economy, people are eating at home more and using more prepared foods at home," according to Brian Conrad and Pete Bruehl, marketing managers. "This trend may be driving more demand to the pre-cooked products at retail at the expense of fresh or frozen meat products in foodservice." One cook-in benefit is the shrink bag or thermoformed package can act as a pan/mold liner. "The product is cooked in the package and the pan/ mold stays clean during the cooking process," Conrad and Bruehl say. Cook-in packaging can also feature adhesion properties so the protein binds to the bag/fi lm and keeps the moisture in the product rather than evaporating during the cooking process. Yield is improved as a result. Curwood offers three cook-in shrink bags: Cook-Tite 76, Cook-Tite 76A and Cook-Tite CS bags. Cook-Tite 76 bags are cook-andship bags. These bags are typically used for whole-muscle products like roast beef. Cook-Tite 76A bags are also cook-and-ship bags with adhesion properties. They are used for meat slurry products like molded tur- key and ham products. The adhesion properties allow the protein in the slurry to bind to the bag and keep the moisture in the product rather than leaking out after the cook process. Cook-Tite CS bags are for cookand-strip applications. The bag is stripped off after the cooking process and the processor adds additional value to the product by applying surface coatings or slicing the product. The product is then repackaged in Automatic Vacuum Packaging Equipment Purchase Factory Direct! Simple and reliable machines that offer the lowest cost of ownership in h/f/f/s packaging. Tremendous Values & Quick Delivery Model No. RA200 RI200 RZ200 Length 111⁄ 2 ft. 16 ft. 18 ft. Description Starter Machine Standard Machine Zipper Machine *1 year or 1 million cycle warranty on all machines 82 * Meat&Poultry * July 2010 * www.MeatPoultry.com 888-314-2152 Made in the USA 1728 N. Topping Avenue * Kansas City, MO 64120 816-455-8055 * Fax 816-455-8469http://www.MeatPoultry.com