Pressure to reduce plastic is prompting poultry packers and processors in some markets to move to ‘no tray’ or cardboard trays when wrapping whole birds. ILAPAK’s Delta 3000 flow wrapping platform gives poultry operations the flexibility to run these plastic-saving solutions alongside conventional tray and film combos and innovative roast-in-bag formats on the same machine.
The Delta 3000 is the perfect choice for poultry packers owing to its inherent flexibility – companies can use one machine to pack whole birds or parts (thighs, drumsticks, breasts etc), with or without a supporting tray, and with or without gas flushing. Trays can be cardboard, foil or plastic and wrapping materials can be barrier, shrink or ovenable films.
Roast-in-bag or ovenable films are an increasingly popular format in the UK, as they offer a compelling hygiene advantage – eliminating the need to handle the raw bird prior to cooking. The Delta 3000 can produce ovenable MAP flushed quatttro packs.
“The chicken is wrapped, with or without a foil tray, and the machine folds and seals film on four corners for a box-like effect,” says Luca Somaini, Delta Product Manager at ILAPAK. “The strong seals created by the Delta 3000 enable the bird to be cooked in the bag, keeping in the flavours and aromas and preventing juices from escaping.”
Elsewhere in Europe, whole birds are predominantly packaged in a plastic tray and long shelf life film option such as gas flushed barrier films and shrink bags.
The versatile Delta 3000 can run off all of these pack formats, at speeds ranging from 60-100 ppm depending on the application.
“Historically, when it has come to building flow wrappers for the meat and poultry industries, this level of flexibility has been at the expense of hygiene. Now producers can have the best of both worlds: a machine that offers best-in-class sanitary design and absolute flexibility,” says Somaini.
