Case Histories
Grampian Country Food Group, British Chicken Processor Switches to Cryovac® Lid Film and Modified Atmosphere Packaging to Offer Quality and Value for Money
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Founded in 1980, Grampian Country Food Group is a privately owned agri-food business headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland. This vertically integrated company produces fresh and frozen chicken, pork, lamb and beef products for the retail, wholesale, food service and convenience sectors. The company is committed to top quality food production and aims to bring innovation and added value to the chicken and meat market. To deliver food products of top quality, Grampian seeks to control the supply of all raw materials through internal production or contract supply for complete traceability.
Part of the company’s quality strategy is based on its ability to market quality products in a final consumer form offering value for money. Recently, Grampian decided to change the packaging of their chicken consumer portions (breast fillets, drumsticks, thighs, legs and quarters). They had been using foam trays with PVC stretch overwrap, a packaging which looked old-fashioned and generated problems such as leaks and inconsistent formats. Grampian therefore decided to switch to modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) and looked for a lidding film which would offer increased shelf-life and good sealability to mono-propylene trays for enhanced food safety, as well as robust packs and easy stacking in crates.
The Solution
The Cryovac® EOP616B Multiflex lidding film was chosen because it produces robust MAP packs that are leakproof and increase shelf-life by 2-4 days. It also offers enhanced presentation thanks to its antifog properties and excellent clarity, along with consistent pack format.
Strong packs are more resistant to product handling, which resolves the problems of leaks, perforations and possible food contamination. Such packaging allows Grampian to rest assured that their products arrive at the retailers in perfect condition, exactly as they left the production plant. Furthermore, leakproof packs bear far stronger consumer appeal as they are clean and well presented on retail shelves.
"The performance of the EOP616B film was a key contributor to the success of our packaging development project", explained Shen Caratella, Packaging Development Manager for Grampian. "Development of MAP has delivered innovation specific to the poultry industry".
The Results
Grampian launched its new line of chicken packs featuring the Cryovac lidding film in early 2003. Cryovac provided support, training and thorough back-up through the development and commercial stages, which included the installation of 45 machinery lines across six sites. "Cryovac’s full commitment was unquestionable and very good", said Caratella.
The benefits of the new packaging went beyond shelf-life, mechanical resistance and presentation. Consistent tray shape and pack format contributed to better stacking and increased stacking volumes, which in turn had a positive impact on distribution costs because of less wasted space in crates. The packs fit crates of all retailers and can be easily and efficiently stacked with no risk of damage.
Moreover, retailers and processors are looking increasingly for antifog properties, which are unique to this packaging process. As a result, the product is consistent and used by all retailers, which means only one set of tools is required. Such unified pack production is clearly a massive benefit to the industry.
All retailers welcomed the change of packaging and are extremely pleased with the new presentation. They are altogether happy with the successful shelf-life, antifog presentation and strong sealing which for them has resulted in cleaner and more attractive shelves and packs. "Our successful launch of MAP packs into almost all UK retailers, using specifically developed trays, has been perfectly complemented by the Cryovac EOP616B lidding film to provide extra shelf-life, stronger packs and excellent film clarity", concluded Alan Bickerton, Operations Manager for Grampian at Sandycroft.
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