Poultry and Egg Processing

FST-611 3(2-1)

Dr. Muhammad Issa Khan

Associate Professor
National Institute of Food Science and Technology
Poultry Packaging
Poultry Packaging
•There is a growing demand for supplying fresh food to
distant markets. This has led to an increased interest in
methods to extend the shelf-life of products
•Shelf-life requirements go beyond the time needed to reach
the market. It includes additional periods such as refrigerated
display and consumer holding time. The goal is to prevent
pathogens from reaching dangerous levels before spoilage
becomes apparent to consumers
•Microorganisms exist in environments where meat is
produced, processed, packaged, and stored
•Packaging acts as a physical barrier, preventing
microorganisms from contaminating the food
• Packaging systems aim to extend shelf-life by inhibiting
pathogen growth. In-pack conditions should inhibit
pathogen growth more effectively than spoilage organisms
• Poultry-meat spoilage depends on microbial growth and
complex biochemical activities. Changes in extrinsic
conditions, such as refrigeration and modified atmosphere
packaging (MAP), can delay spoilage
• Different packaging types are used for poultry meat based
on the form and desired shelf-life
• Poultry is typically packaged in small, consumer portions at
a central processing location
• Retailers absorb the cost but gain advantages such as
eliminating labor, equipment, and contamination problems
• The three main factors limiting shelf-life under chill storage
conditions are;
 Microbial growth
 Changes in appearance (pigments)
 Oxidative flavor change
• Extended shelf-life allows processors to expand product
lines and distribute products over longer distances
1. Functions of Packaging
Containment: Packaging serves as containment for handling,
transportation, and use of products. Enables holding multiple
portions of chicken parts for various amounts or combinations
Preservation and Protection: Preserves and protects the
contents for the required shelf-life. Protects against rodents,
dust, microorganisms, chemical contaminants, environmental
factors, and tampering
Identification: Provides information about contents, quantity,
quality, and manufacture. Includes nutritional labeling, proper
handling practices, product information, and pricing
Facilitation of Dispensing and Use: Facilitates dispensing
and use, allowing for single-serving amounts and
microwaveable packs
Four Main Functions of Food Package are Containment,
Information, Convenience, and Protection
2. Packaging Material and Properties
The main materials used for specific purposes are:
Barriers: Ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH), vinylidene
chloride copolymer (Saran), and the more rarely used
aluminum foil, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and acrilonitrile
(Barex)
Strength properties: Polyethylene terephthalate (PETE),
nylons, polypropylene (PP), and expanded polystyrene (EPS)
provide strength
Sealing Agents: Polyethylenes (PE, LDPE, LLDPE, HDPE)
and ionomers are sealing agents
Oxygen and moisture permeability are crucial in meat
packaging. Water-vapor transmission rate (WVTR) and
oxygen transmission rate (OTR) impact poultry meat quality
Categories based on oxygen transmission rate (OTR) ml/m2
in 24 h: low (0-10), medium (~60), and high (≥1000)
Thermal properties of polymers are important to poultry-meat
packaging in relation to sealing of the pack and shrinkage of
the film around the product
Most bags and trays used in meat packaging are sealed by
fusing two layers of polymer together by the application of
heat. Also, packaging often requires a skin-tight finish that is
accomplished by heat-shrinking
Categories of Packaging:
• Primary level (food-contact surface)
• Secondary level (outer box or wrapper)
• Tertiary level (holds several secondary packages in shipping
loads)
The primary package is the one with which most consumers
are familiar and is the food-contact surface that will carry
labeling and any additional consumer information. A common
primary package for poultry meat is a polymer (plastic) film
wrap or overwrap; however, the primary package can also be
a metal can
The secondary package is an outer-box, case or wrapper that
contains several primary packages. While this has no contact
with the food surface, it serves to protect the primary
packages from breakage, damage and soiling during
distribution
The tertiary package holds several secondary packages in
shipping loads such as pallet-sized units. Stretch-wrap film is
often utilized to stabilize the pallet during loading, shipping
and unloading
3. Packaging Materials
Paper, Paperboard, and Fiberboard: Variations in
thickness; paper, paperboard, and fiberboard. Corrugated
paperboard used in secondary shipping cartons. Corrugated
boxes often made from wood pulp, bleached, and coated with
waxes, resins, lacquers, or plastics for added strength,
humidity resistance, wet strength, and grease resistance
Acid treatment of paper pulp produces glassine paper with
high oil- and water-resistance
Metals: Steel and aluminum used for canned poultry meat.
Steel cans coated with tin or steel alloy for corrosion
prevention. Aluminum foil used in flexible pouches,
combined with plastics and paper for complete barrier
properties
Cellophane: Regenerated cellulose film from wood pulp.
Good gas and grease barrier, coated for hydrophobicity.
Breaks down in the presence of moisture. so is often coated
with a hydrophobic layer
Plastic Polymers: Most common packaging materials for
poultry products due to versatility, convenience, and low cost
Types include polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP),
ionomers (surlyn), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyvinyldiene
chloride (PVdC), ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH), polystyrene
(PS), polyamides (nylons), polyesters, and polycarbonates
(PC)
4. Packaging Methods
Whole-Bird Packaging
Wet Shipper: Early method in the USA using whole
carcasses or cut-up parts with chipped ice in wax-coated
corrugated boxes
Polymer Bag: The polymer bag was the next generation of
packaging for whole carcasses. In this case, the carcass is
vacuum-packed in a tough, clear or colored bag that is sealed
or clipped
This package has a heat-sealed closure that is then heat-
shrunk to fit cleanly around the whole carcass, reducing
leakage issues
Cut-Up Poultry
Case-Ready Packaging: Growing trend where supermarkets
shift packaging operations to processors for optimized
presentation and integrity. Several options are available for
packaging cut-up poultry, including overwrap trays, ice-packs,
bulk-boxes, polymer-lined boxes, and polymer bags
Common Package for Chicken Parts: The most common
package for chicken parts (90% of all chicken breast, thigh,
drumstick and wing portions packaged as consumer portions)
uses a highly oxygen-permeable, expanded-polystyrene foam
tray and a polymer-based, stretch-film overwrap
Bulk boxes and polymer-lined boxes are often used to
package frozen parts destined for export
Continuous, Case-Ready Packaging Process (Stages 1-8):
The following stages highlight the stresses that are placed on
the foam trays during each step of a continuous, case-ready
packaging process
1.Product Transfer: Most poultry plants have a layout
which includes a series of conveyors in a race-track formation
that carry products to a line of overwrap machines. Trays
moved manually from conveyors to packaging machines,
causing stress on tray side-walls
2.Loading the Machine: Stainless-steel pusher plate exerts
stress on the tray's back end
3. Application of Stretch-Film: Film stretched over the tray
using rollers and gripper chains
4. Movement of the Product: Textured side belts move the
product, creating a longitudinal seal along the tray's base
5. Removal of Air: Vacuum system removes air, requiring
side belts to prevent tray slippage
6. End-Seals and Exit Belts: Transverse seals applied, and
exit belts advance the product to the shrink tunnel
7. Hot-Air Shrink Tunnel: Initial shrink applied using a
hot-air tunnel
8. Hot-Water Shrink Tunnel: Final shrink in hot-water
tunnel for better heat transfer
Ground and further-processed poultry in modified
atmosphere packaging (MAP)
Vacuum Packaging: Vacuum packaging utilizes a high-
barrier film that restricts O2 transmission. After packaging,
residual meat respiration and microbial growth will utilize
any remaining O2 present in the package and increase the
concentration of CO2
Vacuum-Skin Packaging: Vacuum-skin packaging is a
modification which utilizes a thermoformable film that can be
heat-shrunk around the product, thereby reducing purge and
showing clearly the product surface
Active MAP: MAP with controlled CO2 levels to extend
shelf life and inhibit bacterial growth. MAP can be
accomplished passively by allowing the atmosphere within
the pack to equilibrate in the presence of O2 absorbers or
actively by flushing the package headspace with the desired
atmosphere before sealing . Active gas flushing is commonly
used for fresh poultry and is usually performed on a form-fill-
seal machine, where the gas mixture is injected into the
package to replace the ambient air
Master Bulk-Packaging:
Suitable for Food Service: Master packs are particularly
suitable for food-service purposes and involve a slightly
different approach in that retail tray packages with gas-
permeable films are placed in large, master packages sealed
with a gas-impermeable film. The master packages are
flushed with 100% CO2 or N2 to minimize bacterial growth
MAP for Cooked and Cured Products:
Processed meat products include nitrite-cured meat and non-
cured, cooked products, which are typically packaged in heat-
shrinkable films. Two common tray packages used for poultry
are:
1. A non-barrier EPS (PS foam) tray, overwrapped with a
barrier film.
2. An EPS (PS foam) tray with a built-in barrier and barrier
lidding sealed to the tray
Cook-In Packaging:
Includes restructured deli-type meats, cooked in the package
for increased shelf life and product quality. To withstand the
required cooking temperatures, cook-in packaging consists of
layers that perform different functions. EVOH is the moisture
and gas barrier, while the adhesion layer is made from nylon
and/or Surlyn. Film-to-meat adhesion minimizes package
purge after cooking and during storage. Non-adhering bags
are used for products that are cooked in the package, then
removed for further processing
Meat-to-Film Adhesion: Importance of proper adhesion to the
film during the cooking process
Active Packaging
Active packaging interacts with the environment and/or the
food itself. Available systems include oxygen scavengers,
moisture absorbers and films with selective permeability to
gases
Oxygen Scavengers: Oxygen will accelerate the deterioration
of fresh and cured meat-color and allow growth of aerobic
bacteria and molds. Incorporation of O2 scavengers in a
package, along with a physical barrier, such as PVdC or
EVOH, can maintain the O2 level inside the package at
almost 0%
Moisture Absorbers: Purge can facilitate bacterial growth, so
moisture absorbers are placed in fresh meat packages or
incorporated as part of the film
Temperature-Compensating Films: Films are available that
can change in permeability with changing temperature. This
is achieved by the use of long-chain fatty acids with alcohol-
based side chains that are oriented in a linear pattern and can
change to a random alignment
Antimicrobial Packaging: Edible films and coatings can act as
carriers of antimicrobial compounds, as well as being barriers
to microorganisms. Much of the reported work with
antimicrobial films and coatings has utilized acids carried in a
variety of materials
Heat-Stable Pouches and Cans
Poultry-meat products contained in thermal pouches and cans
are small meat chunks or particulates found in sauces, soups
and stews
Sous Vide Method: Sous vide is a packaging and processing
method in which the food is first vacuum packaged, then
cooked, cooled and stored under refrigeration. The product is
usually reheated prior to consumption
Risk of Pathogens: Sous-vide products are formulated with
few or even no preservatives, are not shelf-stable and are
packaged under vacuum, so, concerns about the growth of
pathogens, especially C. botulinum, due to mild heat
treatment and vacuum packaging
 5. Biopolymer Packaging for Poultry Meat
Large amounts of packaging waste, especially plastic, are
discarded into municipal waste systems. In the USA alone,
over 23 million tons of plastic packaging waste were
generated in 1998
Research efforts are dedicated to producing polymer films
from natural sources to reduce packaging waste. Plant
materials are actively explored for this purpose.
Characterization of renewable biopolymers is crucial for
emerging uses in packaging applications
Advantages of Biopolymers for Food Packaging
•Reduced dependence on petroleum-based packaging
•Utilization of renewable agricultural resources
• Mass production capability
• Ability to act as carriers for shelf-life extenders
(antimicrobials or antioxidants)
• Biodegradability is a notable advantage
Sources of Biopolymers
Biopolymers can be derived from both plant and animal
materials. Proteins (e.g., wheat gluten, corn zein, whey, pea
protein, meat proteins, egg proteins, soy) and carbohydrates
(e.g., alginate, cellulose, chitosan) are often used
Significant research activity in Europe for developing bio-
based packaging. Some US companies already using
modified starch materials
Commercial raw materials include polylactate produced by
Cargill Dow (trade name: NatureWorks PLA) and by Mitsui,
under the trade name LACEA. Other raw, starch-based
packaging materials include Novamont (Mater Bi), Biotec
(Bioplast), and Earth (Earth Shell)
Solvent casting is a common method for biopolymer film
production. Less common are thermal processing methods
like compression-molding and extrusion
Advantages include avoiding non-food-approved compounds
and cost reduction
Functions of Edible Films for Poultry Meat
Moisture barrier, oxygen barrier, texture modifier, adhesion
aid for breading, mold suppressor, bacterial inhibitor, physical
protectant, oil barrier, antimicrobial carrier, and antioxidant
carrier
Functions of Edible Films for Poultry Meat
Moisture barrier, oxygen barrier, texture modifier, adhesion
aid for breading, mold suppressor, bacterial inhibitor, physical
protectant, oil barrier, antimicrobial carrier, and antioxidant
carrier
Research on biopolymeric films dates back to the 1940s, with
increased intensity in recent years. Earlier uses include
carrageenan for frozen poultry protection
Heat-extrusion method for creating films from natural plant
materials is a new technology. Enables the film to act as a
carrier for delivering antimicrobials to the food product
 6. Future Trends
Aseptic packaging and processing are interrelated processes
for poultry products. These processes contribute to reducing
the initial microbial load of food and maintaining package
integrity after sterilization.
Aseptic Packaging reduces the initial microbial load of food
and maintains the package integrity after sterilization
The total process can be described as pre-sterilization of the
food before filling it into a pre-sterilized package, within a
sterile environment, followed by closing of the package in a
sterile manner
High-temperature, short-time processing is commonly used
for food sterilization in the aseptic system
Other methods, such as ohmic or microwave heating, are also
employed for thermal processing of foods with poultry-meat
particulates
Aseptic packaging and processing may find future
applications for poultry products. There is ongoing
exploration of innovative sterilization and packaging methods
for enhanced food safety