INSIGHT – T OWNSEND FUR THER PROCESSING Loading and ‘cook in the pack’ Sausages are now ready for packing. Sausage is loaded into its final packaging, for instance a plastic pre-formed pack which will be sealed. The last stage in co-extrusion sausage production is cooking product in its packaging. Product is sterilized or pasteurized (depending on the pack) and gets its definite structure. The product is now ready to eat. Substantial cost savings: labor and casing The end products you can make using co-extrusion technology are attractive and have a first-class bite according to wish. Their quality is also very consistent and meets the very highest food safety requirements. By opting for a co-extrusion system you can save an enormous amount of money. Production is fully automatic and the entire system can be operated by a single operator or supervisor. The wage costs you save are enormous. You can also save a lot on pre-formed casings and/or natural casings. These casings are much more expensive per kg or pound of end product than the gel necessary for co-extrusion. Pre-formed casings also have a limited length; the operator must therefore continually feed on new casing. The need for a twist means that extra casing is used for each sausage. A pre-formed casing can break. You have start-stop losses (clipping off the ends). Casing quality and particularly that of natural casings is not always consistent. Food safety Another important reason for choosing co-extrusion is the unequalled high level of food safety of the end products made on the system. During production, product remains practically untouched by human hand. The entire production process is in-line from the moment of co-extrusion right up to the last process step. The chance of any contamination is therefore very low. Product quality is very consistent and product shelf life is longer than for items produced using a more traditional method. Success of the various Townsend Further Processing co-extrusion systems is undisputed. End product quality is consistent, cost savings per kg or pound of product are substantial and food safety is unequalled. Various large scale producers have opted for co-extrusion. In coming years the new technology will prove itself more and more as THE way of making a multiplicity of fresh and cooked and smoked sausage products. With its various co-extrusion systems, Townsend Further Processing once more confirms its name as a developer and manufacturer of innovative, top-class systems for making sausage. Ray Townsend’s name can live on with pride! CO -EXTRUSION AT A GLANCE Co-extrusion technology for sausage production is a fully automatic system simultaneously extruding the meat mix and a thin layer of (casing) gel (co-extrusion). In contact with brine the (casing) gel starts to transform into a casing. After this the ‘endless’ sausage is cut into separated sausages ready to be packed as fresh sausages. If you want to produce cooked smoked products, the sausages (after being cut) are pre-dried, smoked, post dried, packed and finally fully cooked in the pack. 5