from fridge, to oven, to table. This
is a luxury associated firmly with
aluminium packaging.
Cook-in engineering
For consumers, trays that allow
poultry to be cooked directly in their
packaging means that cooking is a
fuss-free affair, but this method also
has advantages for logistics. Robust
foil trays allow sleeves and cartons to
be lightweighted, reducing the total
pack costs and transport costs of
poultry.
Additionally, aluminium trays are
suitable for use with hermetic seal
machines and gas flushing techniques
allowing for shelf-life extension of
poultry products if required. Gas
flushing techniques, also known as
modified atmosphere packaging
(MAP), are a carefully controlled blend
of different gases used in air tight
packaging to increase the shelf life of
food. Typically, this is used with plastic
trays or smoothwall foil trays.
For the consumers, they see versatility
from a different angle. Poultry
products that can be frozen, cooked
on a direct flame and put on the table,
all in the same container, are ideal.
Market analysis
The future of poultry packaging will
marry consumer convenience with
shelf-life extension. Advanta saw a
gap in the market for an aluminium
poultry tray alternative whereby the
consumer peels away the skin pack
film and puts the tray straight into
the oven. The company has since
launched the poultry vacuum pack
smoothwall tray…the consumer simply
peels off the plastic skin surrounding
the poultry, revealing the whole
chicken in a foil tray, and placing it
in the oven. This combination brings
the extended life from the skin pack
plastic, and the convenience of the foil
tray, ready to be put in the oven and
onto the table.
Consumer demand for convenience
and retailers' requirements for
longer shelf-life is refocusing the
priorities in poultry food packaging.
As consumption of poultry products
continues to grow, packaging
manufacturers must ensure their
packaging is fit for purpose in this
sector.
Whether you’re in Australasia, North
America or Europe, consumer
preferences will continue to drive
changes in packaging, across all
poultry divisions. Packaging may take
on new forms over the next decade,
as long as consumer demands are
embraced.
Advanta is one of the leading foil food
container manufacturers in Europe.
The company's headquarters in the
UK is purpose-built and establishes
new standards for the whole
packaging industry. The business
operates globally and is able to offer
regional support in Australasia, Asia,
South America, Africa and the USA.
www.advantapack.com
www.foodtechnology.co.nz 91
/www.advantapack.com
/www.foodtechnology.co.nz
