Cryovac launches printable top web for vacuum packaging

Printing on skin packaging, which fits to a product, is typically difficult yet manufacturers are increasingly looking for ways to make products stand out on shelves. The new Darfresh TP100 top web film is printed on the surface using flexography in up to 9 colours. It is also registered for each individual product, rather than continuously printed, offering a further advantage to manufacturers selling special pack sizes. The new top web can be used for medium profile applications, or foods that are of medium size such as slices of smoked or processed meats as well as cheese chunks. ​"We already have film for high and low profile applications but this is specifically for medium profile,"​ said Nicolas Delplancq, spokesman for Cryovac, the food packaging division of Sealed Air. The top web also has other performance features such as a polyethylene sealant layer to stop leaks and easy opening features. It is designed for the rollstock packaging technology running on the Cryovac Multivac CD and R-CD range equipped with the registered printing kit and 30mm dome height. The firm has also launched a new vacuum skin tray concept called the Cryovac VST system, catering to firms using pre-made rigid trays. The system runs on existing qualified tray sealers which have been modified to run the vacuum skin process, made by manufacturers such as Mondini, Sealpac, Multivac or Ulma. Cryovac has developed the VST0250 & VST0280 top webs for this system, which are fully co-extruded skin films with high barrier and formability around products. They offer strong seal strength with Cryovac EOST trays. The system is targeted at processors looking for lower investment to enter the market and limited risks. Cryovac claims that the flexible system combines the best of the vacuum skin and lidding technologies. The Cryovac VST concept is well-suited to packaging fresh or frozen meats such as beef, veal, pork or lamb, as well as poultry cut-ups with long shelf-life requirements. Vacuum skin packaging is increasingly used in the European food industry, with estimated annual growth in demand of more than 10 per cent, according to Cryovac. It has become popular with growing concerns about food safety and especially contamination of meat products. It is most widely used for processed meat products. Other recent innovations from Sealed Air include its Cryovac Freshness Plus packaging range, can ensure food quality and safety, while removing the need for an iron-based oxygen scavenging pack to be inserted inside packaging. This feature can help processors to meet requirements for clean labelling in their goods, according to the company. Last year the company also released a new vacuum packaging machine targeting processors aiming to make inroads into the ready-to-cook convenience market. The new Cryovac VM15 is designed to pack cooked hams in aluminum forms. The machine is designed as a single chamber semi-automatic vacuum packaging machine for Cryovac's packaging that allows meats to be cooked in the bag.