| Many retailers envisioning the supermarket of the | | | | England). Called Baricol XPS45, the 45-micron (1.75-mil) |
| future are convinced that the fresh meat department | | | | film consists of polyethylene/ tie/EVOH/tie/proprietary |
| will shift from a manufacturing and packaging | | | | sealant. The film is said to exhibit an oxygen |
| department with some selling to a merchandising | | | | transmission rate of 0.66 cc/sq m/24 hours. This film is |
| department with some trimming and repackaging. | | | | shipped to LinPac's manufacturing plant in Wilson, |
| Prepackaged meats, ready for the display case, will | | | | NC. It's laminated to expanded polystyrene sheet |
| play a big role in the transition. One company | | | | that's produced there. Thermoforming follows. No |
| that's giving the concept a big push is Colorado | | | | details on the barrier characteristics of the finished tray |
| Boxed Beef, Auburndale, FL, specifically with its | | | | were available. A key feature to the LinPac tray is its |
| case-ready, prepackaged ground beef. Through its | | | | flange. According to Baxter, other barrier foam trays |
| senior vice president of finance and marketing, Steve | | | | have a much wider flange so that the lidding material |
| Saterbo, CBB has invested in packaging materials | | | | has plenty of surface area to grab on to when |
| from as far away as England and Japan along with | | | | it's heat-sealed to the tray. But the wider flange |
| new machine technology. Both create a prepackaged | | | | makes the tray look different than conventional meat |
| product with more than double the shelf life of most | | | | trays that are packed in-store. That was an issue |
| ground beef packaged at store level. CBB is a | | | | since many consumers tend to believe products are |
| $700-million distributor of meats to retail and | | | | fresher when packaged in-store. |
| foodservice outlets in the Southeast. It projects that its | | | | The seal integrity of the lidding film to the 1/8" |
| ground beef program will reach $25 million in sales | | | | flange, Baxter says, has been perfectly acceptable. |
| during its next fiscal year. After attending a packaging | | | | "Shelf life, burst strength, and other tests |
| exposition in Europe a few years ago, Saterbo came | | | | we've done have shown us this tray is up to the |
| away convinced that case-ready was "the way | | | | task," says Baxter. Another advantage of the |
| the industry is going to go." Developing a | | | | tray is nearly vertical sidewalls. "The angle of the |
| successful program at CBB, however, has not been | | | | sidewall on other barrier foam trays is quite |
| easy. "We've done more R&D over | | | | gradual," says Baxter. "With this nearly |
| the last few years than I want to talk about," | | | | straight up-and-down design, you can put a pound of |
| says Saterbo. | | | | beef in a tray occupying twenty percent less space in |
| The firm even acquired its own supermarket in | | | | the refrigerated case. And a smaller tray costs less, |
| Groveland, FL, to test its case-ready beef program. | | | | too." Rotary-style MAP system In CBB's |
| "It was a good way to learn," says Saterbo | | | | plant, the newest development on the machinery side |
| of the now-closed store. "A tough experience, | | | | is the installation last fall of a rotary-style evacuation |
| but valuable." The company's first efforts | | | | backflush/lidding system from MAPfresh Inc. (Hilton |
| involved whole-muscle cuts of veal and lamb. But | | | | Head, SC). The other four lines all have in-line systems. |
| management quickly learned that the sales volume of | | | | Baxter says it's a little early to pronounce final |
| those items was too low to return an acceptable | | | | judgment on rotary vs in-line systems. But he does |
| profit. So about two years ago they refocused on | | | | appreciate the speed of the rotary machine , which is |
| high-volume ground beef and now run five ground | | | | rated at 70 packs/min. "We have it on cruise |
| beef packaging lines seven days a week. Packed in 1-, | | | | control at sixty-two packages per minute," says |
| 2-, 3- and 5-lb weights, meat is formulated in five | | | | Baxter. Baxter also values the heavy-duty construction |
| fat-to-lean ratios. How Kroger buys A key customer is | | | | of the rotary machine , and that power is supplied |
| Cincinnati-based Kroger's Atlanta division, which | | | | primarily by servo motors. "You have fewer |
| includes more than 150 stores. Individual stores send | | | | moving parts than with a chain-and-sprocket |
| their ground beef requirements to division | | | | system," says Baxter. "Over time, the |
| headquarters. That office sends the total order, five or | | | | rotary machines may prove a better way to go. It |
| six times weekly, to CBB via an EDI (electronic data | | | | may prove more durable." MAPfresh's Guy |
| interchange) link. | | | | Foulkes says his firm has 16 patents on the T-300 |
| The next day, CBB fulfills the order and by about 7:00 | | | | machine running at CBB. |
| p.m. the product is on its way. By 6:00 a.m. on Day 2 it | | | | It's an intermittent-motion machine whose rotary |
| reaches a central warehouse in Atlanta, where | | | | platform is divided into four identical sections or |
| it's dispersed to individual stores, reaching them | | | | carriers. Each carrier has cavities that hold trays of |
| that same day or early on Day 3. Also, on a weekly | | | | meat and take them through the gas-flushing and |
| basis, Kroger specifies the retail price per pound so | | | | lidding process. Different sets of cavity tooling make it |
| CBB's plant can print and apply price labels. In turn | | | | possible to hold as many as five 1-lb trays in each |
| this means that when the order arrives, the meat | | | | carrier. Carriers hold fewer trays when larger portions |
| merchandisers need only open the shippers and stock | | | | are being packed. So far CBB has used the T-300 |
| the trays in the refrigerated meat display. CBB codes | | | | exclusively for 1-lb trays. The beginning of the |
| each price label with a seven-day sell-by date. Though | | | | operation is automatic tray denesting by a Model 112 |
| the actual shelf life is ten days, says Saterbo, | | | | Portion-To-Pack system from Waldrup (Houston, TX). |
| "That still gives the consumer three days in which | | | | It uses rotary shafts to cleanly separate the bottom |
| to use the meat," he says. "It's | | | | tray from its nested stack. Then a vacuum pick-up |
| important not to stretch your sell-by date to ten days. | | | | head reaches up, grabs the tray, and places it in a |
| If you do, you leave no leeway for the | | | | lugged conveyor. This conveyor has a 90o direction |
| consumer." Shelf life is that long thanks to | | | | turn on its discharge end. Meanwhile, a vacuum stuffer |
| high-barrier packaging materials and modified | | | | portioner volumetrically dispenses 1-lb loaves of |
| atmosphere packaging. | | | | ground beef onto a declining belt conveyor. The |
| Each tray is backflushed with an 80/20 mix of oxygen | | | | conveyor is timed with the conveyor that delivers a |
| and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide retards | | | | tray just below the end of the belt carrying the meat. |
| spoilage and the oxygen permits the meat to retain its | | | | A loaf on the belt triggers a photocell that releases a |
| bright red color. Continuous improvement Methods | | | | tray to be in position for the meat to drop into it. The |
| have evolved rapidly at CBB in just two short years. | | | | filled trays are conveyed toward the T-300 machine |
| Take machines, for instance. "We used to take | | | | from MAPfresh. A "channelizer," or swing |
| ground beef from the portioners and hand load it into | | | | gate, directs the single-file trays out to one of five |
| trays," says processing plant manager Ed Baxter. | | | | positions. When all five positions are filled, the five trays |
| "Now on our three high-speed lines we | | | | are pushed forward until they drop into the five |
| automatically load trays with beef." Materials | | | | cavities on the carrier plate. |
| have evolved, too, and they'll likely continue to do | | | | Once meat trays are securely in the carrier, the table |
| so. For now, at least, Saterbo is pleased with the | | | | rotates first to an unused position, and then to the |
| preformed trays he gets from LinPac Plastics/Filmco | | | | evacuation/backflush/lidding station. In the fourth and |
| (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) and the lidding material that comes | | | | final station of the rotation, lidded trays are |
| from two sources: Cryovac (Duncan, SC) and | | | | automatically lifted from their cavities and sent down a |
| Packaging Partners, Ltd. (Franklin, WI). Details on the | | | | roller conveyor to labeling. Two labelers The first of |
| makeup of the Cryovac material are unavailable from | | | | two pressure-sensitive blow-down labelers on the line |
| that converter. The other lidstock, says its supplier, is a | | | | is an older model that was moved over from another |
| seven-layer coextrusion called FreshWrap(TM) | | | | line. It applies a paper pressure-sensitive label carrying |
| that's made in Japan. It has an oxygen | | | | the required nutrition statement, fat/lean ratio, and cut |
| transmission rate of 0.1 cc/100 sq"/24 hours. | | | | of meat (sirloin, chuck, etc.). "We've adopted |
| Packaging Partners vice chairman Grover Foote | | | | a color-coding scheme on these labels that even our |
| declines to identify the Japanese converter that | | | | private-label customers are initiating," says Baxter. |
| supplies the film. His firm has exclusive rights to market | | | | "It helps the shopper. If you like ground chuck, you |
| the material in Canada and the U.S. Although regularly | | | | get used to looking for an orange label. For ground |
| used in Europe, especially in England, the material is just | | | | round, it's blue." The second labeler, supplied |
| now making its mark here. Foote estimates some 15 | | | | by Bizerba (Piscataway, NJ), is a Model GS 7000 |
| applications are commercial in the U.S. Foote describes | | | | thermal-transfer weigh/ price unit that blows down a |
| the lidding material as "essentially" nylon | | | | pressure-sensitive label carrying price per pound and |
| ethylene vinyl alcohol/nylon/metallocene PE. Nylon | | | | unit price. Preprinted on this label are safe handling |
| gives the material toughness and puncture resistance | | | | instructions. Between the two labelers is a metal |
| and EVOH is for gas barrier. The inside layer of | | | | detector from Advanced Detection (Milwaukee, WI). |
| metallocene ensures seal strength. The material is | | | | Exiting the second labeler, packages drop onto a |
| coextruded to a thickness of 2 mils, then biaxially | | | | circular accumulation table. Three operators hand-pack |
| oriented in-line to a thickness of 1 mil. Orientation | | | | finished packages of ground beef into corrugated |
| enhances barrier properties of the EVOH component, | | | | shippers. The box size has been standardized for all |
| says Foote. It also gives the material memory, so | | | | tray sizes. It holds 18 1-lb, 12 2-lb, eight 3-lb, four 5-lb or |
| when it's applied to a food tray it stays taut and | | | | 12 trays of patties. This shipper will be replaced soon, |
| wrinkle-free. And by way of England... While the | | | | says Baxter, by a reusable plastic tote. Case labeling is |
| multilayer lidstock from Packaging Partners hails from | | | | done by hand using labels printed by a nearby |
| Japan, the LinPac tray used by CBB originates in | | | | thermal-transfer printer. Palletizing is done by hand, and |
| England. Considering that such imports are typically | | | | the cases are stacked 10-high. Pallets go into a holding |
| more costly than materials sourced domestically, it | | | | cooler, where temperatures are kept between 31o |
| seems odd they'd be used for ground beef, | | | | and 34oF. Product is shipped that night on one of |
| which is notorious for razor-thin profit margins. | | | | CBB's 80 refrigerated tractor/trailers. |
| The oddity is explained by the simple fact that these | | | | Temperatures, says Saterbo, never go above 40oF. |
| materials work well for CBB. Seal integrity, barrier | | | | Now that CBB has established its case-ready ground |
| properties, anti-fog properties, and other key | | | | beef program, will whole-muscle meats be next? Both |
| performance characteristics are consistently on target. | | | | Saterbo and Baxter indicate the answer is likely yes, |
| If such reliability requires imports, so be it, say Baxter | | | | though neither specifies a time frame. But if they do |
| and Saterbo, though both anticipate that domestic | | | | expand beyond ground beef and are successful with |
| sources, maybe even plants run by the current | | | | it, a contributing factor is sure to be their willingness to |
| suppliers, will be established in the next six months or | | | | experiment. "We're always open to trying |
| so. While the LinPac tray is fabricated in the U.S., its | | | | new materials and machines," says Baxter. |
| barrier properties come from a five-layer coextruded | | | | "That's how we got to where we're |
| film from Sidlaw Packaging (Hawkfield Way, Bristol, | | | | at. |