Food Packaging Machines: Vacuum and More

For each food product, there is a packaging machine best suited to creating the packaging. Packaging fresh meat and fish, for example, is quite different from packaging baked goods. Packaging bottles and jars requires different technologies and materials compared to packaging fruits and vegetables.

Vacuum Packaging: Preservation and More

The primary function of vacuum packaging is to preserve food by preventing food-oxygen contact. This way, bacterial proliferation responsible for spoilage is slowed down, and the product’s shelf life is extended.

However, vacuum packaging is also used in professional settings for different cooking methods. Vacuum packaging maintains all the organoleptic properties of the raw material intact. Thus, vacuum packaging machines are used for:

• Creating marinades and seasonings
• Preparing infusions
• Cooking at low temperatures
• Regenerating cooked and frozen foods in water

Moreover, a vacuum packaging machine can reduce the bulk of each food item or preparation, facilitating storage in the kitchen, refrigerator, cellar, or warehouse.

All our professional vacuum packaging machines feature a convenient control display that allows customization of packaging programs and access to machine status information. Additionally, they are all certified according to current European regulations.

Discover the Pactur range of vacuum packaging machines and start producing quality vacuum packaging.

Countertop vacuum packaging machines: for the catering industry.

These are compact chamber machines for food packaging, easily placed in any restaurant premises. In addition to vacuum packaging, these machines also feature special programs for vacuum marinating or preparing foods for sous-vide cooking. In some cases, the machines also allow printing a label with all the salient information on the vacuum-packed product.

Examples of Packaging:

Packaging Meat and Fish

To create packages of meat and fish, it is important to choose packaging machines that ensure maximum hygiene and cleanliness requirements. The perfect preservation of the product is the primary goal.

It is best to rely on stainless steel machines, which are easier to clean and less prone to germ and bacteria proliferation. For packaging methods, you can opt for vacuum (or modified atmosphere): eliminating oxygen stops the spoilage process of the food. Vacuum packaging can also be followed by a shrink wrapping process.

Frozen Product Packaging

Among the categories of food that require specific packaging techniques and storage care are certainly frozen products. This sector considers the thermal factor, around which the packaging is conceived and designed, guiding the various phases from packaging to consumption. This food is frozen to be preserved longer and to endure transport, storage, and distribution when the same product without this thermal precaution would have a significantly shorter shelf life. Moreover, frozen products must perfectly preserve their quality, fragrance, and organoleptic properties, with a particular focus on consumer safety. Indeed, fish and meat are the main products frozen because consuming them when spoiled could compromise health. Freezing is the process that drastically lowers the temperature of products to -18°C, and is considered the safest method for food preservation. This temperature must remain constant to avoid thawing, which would cause deterioration and bacterial proliferation within the product.

Read our article on Frozen Product Packaging Machines

Fruit and Vegetable Packaging

For packaging fruits and vegetables, vacuum packaging is not necessary since the product has a longer shelf life. However, the convenience and appearance of the package prevail in this case: it is important to create packages that highlight the shapes, color, quality, and genuineness of the food.

For this purpose, shrink wrapping machines are used: the transparent and shiny film adheres perfectly to the surface of the food, enhancing its appearance.

Economic and Flexible Chamber Machines

Economic chamber machines with shrink film are the ideal solution for those seeking a packaging machine that ensures maximum reliability during the packaging phase. With innovative and compact design, chamber machines with shrink film aim for maximum productivity without sacrificing aesthetics.

A shrink wrapping machine is the perfect choice for food businesses that want to create highly durable packages that preserve food optimally while being aesthetically pleasing. Shrink wrapping also refines the packaging’s appearance, reducing the edges made of empty film.

A shrink wrapping machine is also ideal for packaging various items (stationery, small parts, discs), certain types of medicines, and cosmetic products. In these cases, in addition to the benefits of durability and packaging aesthetics, there is the added benefit of practicality, as it makes product storage much easier with extremely reduced bulk.

Manual Chamber Machines

Manual chamber machines perform sealing and shrink wrapping in a single workspace. The descent of the chamber is manual, and the reopening is managed by a magnet after a programmable time. Traditional Pactur sealing system, standardized to that of manual and semi-automatic models. Sealing blade bent at 90° for perfect corner sealing. Sealing system with self-regulation, tested by more than thirty years of Pactur experience. In fact, the duration of the sealing impulse depends on the temperature of the cutting blade. Therefore, increased machine use results in a reduced sealing impulse.

Adjustable work surface height allows centering the seal at mid-product height. Moreover, this adjustment is essential for fair use of both edges of the film roll. Powerful fan for shrink wrapping. The powerful retraction allows the use of thicker films, as well as an excellent aesthetic result with thinner films. Heating via special armored resistors. Consumption control and limitation, despite the considerable retraction capacity.

The economical manual chamber packaging machine uses PO, PVC, and PE films, with a specific work cycle for PE. Available multiple work cycles for greater productivity with medium/small products: only after a pre-set number of seals, the machine performs shrink wrapping. Longitudinally adjustable roll-holder, depending on the width of the film roll. Additionally, a finer adjustment: the upper plane of the roll-holder is slidable, allowing precise adaptation of the film around the product. Micro-perforator rings installed on the roll-holder rollers. Possibility to dose micro-perforation by adding or removing perforators. Machine on wheels for easy movement.

The KLOK 550 economical manual chamber shrink wrapping machine is a very high-performance model that provides a brilliant finish even with thicker films. It is an easy-to-use, robust, reliable machine, and, as the name suggests, is highly economical and suitable for many applications.

Packaging for Catering

But the food sector is not just made up of fresh and easily perishable products. There are also products with a long life, preserved in plastic, glass or aluminum bottles and jars. In this case, talking about food packaging means referring to secondary packaging: that is, we are talking about how to create a second package (single or multipack) to simplify the transport and storage of preserves.

The specific machine is a sleeve wrapping packaging machine that is also capable of creating “bundles” or groupings of single products. The film is very resistant: just think of the one used for the classic 6-bottle packs of water.