Meat + Poultry - October 2016 - 62

PA C K A G I N G S O L U T I O N S

"I'd even
venture to say
today, that
bacon ends
and pieces are
more valuable
than the pork
belly itself."
- MICHAEL RICHARDSON

or an ends-and-pieces bacon at all. We need
every pound," Richardson says. To keep up
with demand, the company not only cooks and
sells the byproducts of its own bacon, "we are
probably one of the biggest buyers of bacon
ends in the market," he says.
Applications include toppings for salads,
soups, potato skins and pizza.
"We do bacon bits in packages as small as a
half of an ounce up to filling full combo bins,"
says Richardson, whose customers are spread
across foodservice and retail segments. For
retail use, "We use a vertical form-fill and seal
machine," Richardson says of the packets that
are often used as a component in salad kits.
For the packets, "everything is gas flushed
fresh," Richardson adds.
Retail customers want to be able to
see the bacon so the packets are clear, but
printable film could be used. Foodservice
bacon production tends to be more conducive
to using microwave technology. Customers'
applications dictate the type of bacon bits

produced at the plants. Those using bacon on
pizzas prefer higher water content in their bits
to ensure they won't dry out during the pizza
cooking process. For them, the oil-cooked
products are better suited as they are more
resistant to drying out. Likewise, some
customers require hickory-smoked products
while others prefer liquid-smoke-infused
flavoring. Dice sizes are typically either 3/4-in.
or 1-in. squares and are 3/16-in. thick.
Retail pouches produced at SugarCreek are
typically 2.5 ozs. up to 4 ozs. For club store sizes,
it isn't uncommon for SugarCreek to produce up
to 20-oz. packages of bacon bits. At foodservice,
the standard size is 5-lb. packages, which are
usually packaged in a Multivac style pouch.
"There are times recently," Richardson
says, "and I'd even venture to say today, that
bacon ends and pieces are more valuable than
the pork belly itself."
The bacon bits business has been on
the right side of this bacon phenomenon,
Richardson says. "We enjoy it."

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Meat + Poultry - October 2016

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