Britain’s poultry production increased to 182.2 thousand tonnes in 2017, up 1.4 per cent on the previous year. To tackle the food wastage often associated with higher levels of production, Global packaging supplier, Advanta, has successfully trialled a unique skin pack aluminium poultry tray and film combination —the first of its kind on the foil packaging market. Aimed at poultry processors, the product combines the convenience of a chicken-shaped aluminium foil tray, and shelf-life extension to minimise the potential for food waste.
Skin pack is an excellent alternative to standard modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). The poultry is vacuum packed in the foil tray, eliminating oxygen and therefore increasing the shelf-life of refrigerated poultry — sometimes by up to 300 per cent. Retailers and manufacturers are increasingly opting for this type of packaging as longer shelf-life products result in reduced supply chain waste.
In addition to increased shelf-life, increased demand for convenience has left a gap in the market for a tray of this type. With Advanta's new poultry development, the consumer peels back the plastic skin surrounding the poultry, revealing the whole chicken in a foil tray, ready to put in the oven, then served directly to the table.
"Both consumer demand for convenience and retailers' requirements for longer shelf-lives have refocused the priorities of poultry food packaging," explained Miguel Campos, export sales manager at Advanta. "As consumption of poultry products continues to grow, new concepts are required to ensure packaging is fit for purpose.
"Regardless of the quality or taste of a product, packaging will always have a significant impact on whether the customer will make the purchase," continued Campos. "This is particularly relevant for poultry. Generally speaking, today’s consumers don't want to touch the chicken before it is cooked. With Advanta’s new project, they don’t have this problem. A tray that allows poultry to be cooked directly in the packaging it comes in makes cooking a fuss-free process —it’s all about convenience."
Joining Advanta's smoothwall tray range, this new product has an impressive temperature range of -40 degrees Celsius to 400 degrees Celsius, remaining shatterproof while frozen and rigid while in the oven. The aluminium tray is also 100 per cent recyclable, providing a more environmentally friendly option as opposed to plastic tray alternatives.
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