Sausage packaging plays a crucial role in the food industry, ensuring product safety, accuracy, and efficiency. This article explores the various aspects of optimizing sausage packaging, including the use of centrifugal machines, the importance of food safety, counting and packaging techniques, cleanliness standards, total cost of ownership (TCO), overall equipment efficiency (OEE), and Velec’s innovative solutions.
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Food safety is incredibly important in the processed food industry, especially when it comes to sausage packaging. When sausages are contaminated or not packaged properly, it can pose serious health risks to consumers. That’s why it’s crucial to maintain high food safety standards throughout the entire packaging process to ensure that the sausages are safe to eat and of the highest quality.
Ensuring food safety starts with the ingredients used in sausage production. It’s important to source high-quality ingredients that are free from any contaminants or harmful substances. This includes selecting fresh meats and using spices and additives that meet strict safety regulations.
Proper handling and storage of ingredients is another critical aspect of food safety. It’s essential to store the product at the correct temperatures to prevent the growth of bacteria. Additionally, following hygiene practices, such as regular hand washing and wearing protective gear, can help minimize the risk of contamination during the packaging process.
When it comes to packaging sausages, using safe and hygienic materials is essential. Packaging materials should be designed to prevent any leakage or cross-contamination. They should also be resistant to moisture and bacteria to ensure the sausages remain fresh and safe for consumption.
Regular inspections and quality control checks should be conducted throughout the packaging process to identify any potential issues or deviations from safety standards. This includes monitoring the temperature and humidity levels in the packaging area, as well as conducting microbial tests to ensure the sausages are free from harmful bacteria.
By maintaining high food safety standards throughout the sausage packaging process, companies can not only protect the health and well-being of consumers but also safeguard their reputation and build trust in their products. It’s a responsibility that should be taken seriously to ensure that every sausage that reaches the market is safe, delicious, and of the highest quality.
Centrifugal machines have brought about a significant revolution in the sausage packaging industry. These machines offer advanced automation and precision, making the packaging process more efficient and reliable. In this section, we will explore how centrifugal machines handle the packaging process with great efficiency, ensuring precise counting of sausages.
One of the major advantages of using centrifugal machines is the increase in productivity. These machines can organize sausages at a much faster rate compared to manual methods. This not only saves time but also allows for higher production volumes, meeting the demands of the market more effectively.
Additionally, the use of centrifugal machines can lead to reduced labor costs. With automation taking over the packaging process, fewer workers are required to perform manual tasks. This not only saves money but also reduces the potential for human errors, ensuring consistent and accurate packaging results.
The precision offered by centrifugal machines is another significant benefit. These machines are designed to handle sausages with utmost care and accuracy, ensuring that each sausage is properly sorted and counted. This eliminates the risk of errors or discrepancies in the packaging, enhancing the overall quality and appearance of the final product.
Moreover, the use of centrifugal machines can contribute to improved packaging accuracy. These machines are capable of maintaining a consistent packaging standard, ensuring that each sausage is packaged in the same manner. This consistency not only enhances the visual appeal of the product but also helps in maintaining customer satisfaction and brand reputation.
In conclusion, the introduction of centrifugal machines has revolutionized the sausage packaging industry. These machines offer advanced automation, precision, and efficiency, resulting in increased productivity, reduced labor costs, and improved packaging accuracy. By embracing this technology, companies can streamline their packaging processes and deliver high-quality sausages to the market more effectively.
Velec has developed a global sausage packing solution. The system starts with the completed sausages in bulk containers. These sausages must be properly aligned to package them for sale. The machine must also be gentle to avoid damaging the products. How can we accomplish this?
Velec’s solution places the bulk sausages into the centrifugal machine. This machine is designed to align the sausages without damaging them as quickly as possible. From the centrifugal machine, the sausages feed onto a V Conveyor and then onto what is called a piano belt. The piano belt carries them to the robotic cell. Along the way, each sausage can be inspected with an optical sensor, which uses modern machine learning to reject any malformed or damaged sausages before they get to packaging.
The robotic cell houses a high tech laser guided robotic arm to carefully place each sausage into the packaging. The arm is capable of quickly and accurately depositing one or more layers of sausages into the primary packaging. This system minimizes human contact with the product, greatly lowering the risk of contamination while increasing productivity.
In sausage packaging, it is crucial to have accurate counting and packaging to meet customer expectations and comply with regulatory requirements. This section focuses on the techniques and technologies employed to achieve precise counting and packaging, minimizing errors and maximizing efficiency. We emphasize the significance of advanced counting systems and automated packaging equipment in streamlining the process, ensuring that sausages are packaged accurately and efficiently. By utilizing these innovative tools, companies can enhance their productivity and deliver products that meet the highest standards of quality and precision.
Ensuring cleanliness and hygiene in food processing equipment is essential to prevent contamination and guarantee the safety of products. This section highlights the importance of adhering to rigorous cleanliness standards in sausage packaging. We emphasize the significance of regular equipment cleaning, following sanitation protocols, and utilizing hygienic materials to maintain a clean processing environment.
Regular equipment cleaning is crucial to remove any residual food particles or bacteria that may accumulate during the packaging process. By implementing a thorough cleaning schedule, companies can minimize the risk of cross-contamination and maintain a hygienic production environment.
Sanitation protocols play a vital role in maintaining cleanliness. These protocols include procedures for cleaning and sanitizing surfaces, equipment, and utensils. By strictly following these protocols, companies can ensure that all components involved in the packaging process are free from contaminants.
Velec’s machines use clean in place (CIP) technology to enhance food safety. The benefit of CIP is that it nearly eliminates the risk of manual error during the cleaning process. The operator simply launches the cleaning program and the machine automatically applies the required sanitation protocols for the appropriate time. CIP is also more efficient, and uses up to 50% less water than manual cleaning.
Using hygienic materials is another key aspect of maintaining cleanliness. Packaging materials should be designed to prevent the growth of bacteria and should be resistant to moisture and other potential sources of contamination. By selecting appropriate materials, companies can minimize the risk of product contamination and uphold high hygiene standards.
By prioritizing cleanliness and hygiene in sausage packaging, companies can safeguard the quality and safety of their products. Adhering to strict cleanliness standards, implementing regular equipment cleaning, following sanitation protocols, and utilizing hygienic materials are all crucial steps in maintaining a clean processing environment and ensuring consumer confidence in the final product.
Understanding the concept of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is crucial when making investments in food processing equipment, including sausage packaging. This section aims to explain the importance of TCO and its relevance in the context of sausage packaging. We will delve into how evaluating the long-term costs associated with equipment, such as maintenance, energy consumption, and downtime, can empower businesses to make informed decisions and optimize their overall operational efficiency.
TCO encompasses more than just the initial purchase price of equipment. It takes into account the total costs incurred throughout the equipment’s lifecycle, including installation, maintenance, repairs, energy consumption, and even potential downtime. By considering these factors, businesses can gain a comprehensive understanding of the true cost implications associated with their equipment investments.
Analyzing the TCO of sausage packaging equipment allows businesses to make informed decisions based on the long-term costs and benefits. For example, investing in equipment that requires less maintenance and consumes less energy can result in significant cost savings over time. Additionally, choosing equipment with a lower risk of downtime can help minimize production disruptions and maximize operational efficiency.
By evaluating the TCO of food processing equipment, businesses can optimize their investment decisions and ensure long-term profitability. It allows them to identify cost-saving opportunities, improve operational efficiency, and ultimately deliver high-quality sausage products to the market in a cost-effective manner.
Overall equipment efficiency (OEE) is a metric used to measure the performance of manufacturing equipment. In this section, we explore how OEE can be applied to sausage packaging processes. We discuss the key factors affecting OEE, such as equipment availability, performance, and quality, and how optimizing these factors can enhance productivity and reduce costs.
By staying at the forefront of industry trends and continuously improving their solutions, Velec aims to shape the future of sausage packaging.
Optimizing sausage packaging involves various factors, including the use of centrifugal machines and robot loader, ensuring food safety, accurate counting and packaging, maintaining cleanliness standards, understanding TCO, considering OEE, and embracing innovative solutions. By prioritizing these aspects, the food industry can enhance product quality, safety, and operational efficiency in sausage packaging processes.
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Sausage casing, also known as sausage skin or simply casing, is the material that encloses the filling of a sausage. Natural casings are made from animal intestines or skin; artificial casings, introduced in the early 20th century, are made of collagen and cellulose.[1] The material is then shaped via a continuous extrusion process – producing a single sausage casing of indefinite length – which is then cut into desired lengths, usually while the extrusion process continues.
Natural casings
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Origin
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Natural sausage casings are made from the sub-mucosa of the small intestine of meat animals,[2] a layer of the intestine that consists mainly of naturally occurring collagen.[3] In Western European cuisine and Chinese cuisine, most casings come from pigs, but elsewhere the intestines of sheep, goats, cattle and sometimes horses are also used. To prepare the intestines as casings, they are flushed, scraped and cleaned with water and salt by hand or with machinery; today they are primarily machine cleaned. The outer fat and the inner mucosa lining are removed during processing.[3] They are salted to lower the water activity (which inhibits microbial growth) and preserve the casing.[3] Natural casings have been used in the production of meat specialties for centuries and have remained virtually unchanged in function, appearance, and composition. US and EU organic food regulations only allow natural casings, which can be derived from non-organically raised animals as there are no large scale slaughter plants which handle and process only organic animals and sell their casings as certified organic casings. As a result all large scale natural casing companies buy casings from around the world and send them to their selection facilities to be graded and packaged. There are four primary animal genera which are used to manufacture natural casings (although all mammals raised for meat could potentially be used to produce natural casing): cows, pigs, and lambs and sheep.
Appearance
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Natural casing sausages are distinguishable from collagen or cellulose casings because of their irregularity, although high quality sheep and lamb casings can be almost indistinguishable from a collagen casing as they have no noticeable imperfections. The main difference is in the way they are twisted and linked which impacts the appearance of the final product and makes it easy to differentiate a hot dog using natural sheep or lamb casing vs collagen casing. The size and usage of natural casings are impacted by the animal they are derived from, the narrowest being lamb followed by sheep followed by hog followed by beef. The size range for lamb is 14 mm to 28 mm in diameter (which is how casings are graded), the size range for sheep is 16 mm to 32 mm in diameter, the size range for hog is 28 mm to 58 mm in diameter, the size range for beef is 43 mm to 65 mm, although beef bung caps (which are not derived from the small intestine) have a size range of 115 mm to 130 mm.[3]
Processing
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The process begins at the slaughter plant where "green" (uncleaned) runners (ungraded casings) are removed from the animal during the slaughter process. They are subsequently cleaned, which involves breaking the inner mucosa, usually with a machine that the runners go through and rollers to break the inner mucosa so it can be flushed out and removed. The cleaning process can also be done by hand but primarily casings are machine cleaned. This is a very water intensive process as the casings are vigorously flushed with cold water to remove blood from the mucosa which if not properly flushed during the initial processing can lead to "staining" of the casing where it becomes pink. The cleaned runners are then tied in bundles and packed in plastic drums and filled with a saturated salt brine for preservation. The runners are then sold to a company which processes natural casings by grading and packaging them to create finished units called hanks.
Sausage casingsNatural casings are produced and sold almost exclusively by the hank which is a unit of measure that is 91 meters long.[3] A hank can consist of a varying number of strands (individual pieces of casing) which vary in length from 2 meters (which is the shortest length sold for commercial use) to as long as 28 meters. Each casing manufacturer has various "put ups" which dictate the maximum number of strands and the minimum length of each strand allowed in the put up. Casings are selected for size which is measured in millimeters and refers to the diameter of the casing; this is done exclusively by hand and is primarily done in China due to the availability of low cost labor. Commercially casings are available in various forms of packaging which are suited to different applications. Sheep/lamb and hog are available in all packaging types due to the high demand and long length of pieces; due to the shorter length and much lower demand for beef casings they are primarily only available loose or in net packs either salted or in brine.
Packaging
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Hog casings, packed in salt, from a vacuum packSheep and lamb and hog casings are available "tubed" where each strand is put on a plastic tube which allows the sausage maker to easily place the casing on the stuffing horn;[3] in recent years these tubes have been modified so they break open along a seam and the operator can pull them out at the back of the horn allowing greater efficiency; these are referred to in the industry as "zip tubes", due to the zipper like nature of the seam. These tubed casings are then packed in plastic nets usually 2 per net and packed in plastic drums which are then filled with a saturated salt brine, usually 200 per drum. These are available in all diameters and in lengths greater than 3 meters (as 2 meter or shorter pieces are cost prohibitive to tube).
Sheep and lamb and hog are also available loose in brine in a vacuum sealed plastic pack; commonly referred to as "vacuum packs", these are primarily used by small to medium sized sausage makers who use less than 100 hanks per month of casing. The appeal of vacuum packs is the ease of use, their shorter strand length for hand stuffing (all sausage makers who do not use automatic sausage stuffing and linking machines) and their shelf life; they only need to be opened as needed so the sausage maker does not need to worry that they will not use their opened casings prior to a decrease in quality. These are available in all diameters and in put ups from short up to medium length, about 6 meter minimum, with a maximum length of about 14 meters.
Sheep and lamb and hog are also available in a net, commonly referred to as net pack. These are available salted or in brine and they are primarily used by medium to large sausage makers who do not want to pay the additional cost for the tubed casing and do not have automatic sausage stuffing and linking machines (which require tubed casings to operate efficiently). These are available in all diameters and in lengths greater than 2 meters (as that is the shortest length sold for commercial use).
Beef casings are primarily available only salted or in brine. They are measured in sets, not hanks, and the length is 32 meters; this is for beef "rounds" and "middles" only, as beef bung caps are only about 1 meter in length.
Artificial casings
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Artificial casings are made of collagen (often derived from cattle skin), cellulose, or plastic. Artificial casings from animal collagen are generally edible, though some are not.
Collagen casings
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A salami and the collagen casing (below) it came inCollagen casings are mainly produced from the collagen in beef or pig hides,[2] and the bones and tendons. It can also be derived from poultry and fish. They have been made for more than 50 years and their share of the market has been increasing.[4][5] Usually the cost to produce sausages in collagen is significantly lower than making sausages in gut because of higher production speeds and lower labor requirements.
The collagen for artificial casings is processed extensively. It is formed by extrusion through a die to the desired diameter, dried and shirred into short sticks up to 41 cm (16 in) long that contain as much as 50 m (160 ft) of casing. In a newer process, a form of dough is coextruded with the meat blend, and a coating is formed by treating the outside with a calcium solution to set the coating.
The latest generation of collagen casings are usually more tender than natural casings and do not exhibit the "snap" or "bite" of natural casing sausages. Most collagen casings are edible, but a special form of thicker collagen casings is used for salamis and large caliber sausages where the casing is usually peeled off the sausage by the consumer. Collagen casings are less expensive to use, give better weight and size control, and are easier to run when compared to natural casings.
Vegetarian casings
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Some innovative coextrusion processes have been developed in recent years, allowing 100% plant-based vegetarian casings to be created. Some special alginate coextrusion equipment is required to make casings that can be used in halal or kosher food making.[citation needed]
Inedible casings
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Casings made from cellulose and plastics are peeled off food products and are not eaten.[2]
Cellulose casings
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Cellulose, usually from cotton linters or wood pulp, is processed to make viscose, which is then extruded into clear, tough casings for making wieners and franks. They also are shirred for easier use and can be treated with dye to make "red hots". The casing is peeled off after cooking, resulting in "skinless" franks. Cellulosic viscose solutions are combined with wood or for example abaca pulp to make large diameter fibrous casings for bologna, cotto salami, smoked ham and other products sliced for sandwiches. This type is also permeable to smoke and water vapor. They can be flat or shirred, depending on application, and can be pretreated with smoke, caramel color, or other surface treatments.
Plastic casings
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Plastic casings in use at Bilyan Factory, Armenia (2007) Bilyan FactoryPlastic casings are not eaten.[2] They also can be flat or shirred. Generally, smoke and water cannot pass through the casing, so plastic is used for non-smoked products where high yields are expected. The inner surface can be laminated or co-extruded with a polymer with an affinity for meat protein causing the meat to stick to the film, resulting in some loss when the casing is peeled, but higher overall yield due to better moisture control.
Plastic casings are generally made from polymers such as polyamide, polypropylene, or polyethylene. Polyamide (Nylon) plastic casings are the most commonly used in production of cooked sausages and hams such as luncheon meat and bologna. Polyamide casings come in two main varieties: Oriented and non-oriented. The oriented polyamide[6] are shrinkable casings and will shrink during the cooking process thereby reducing the water loss. Non-oriented polyamide casings remain the same diameter during the cooking process and thereby allow for expansion of the meat during cooking. The use of polyamide casings has expanded recently with the advent of various varieties and structures of casings such as multilayer casings.[7]
References
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