In most categories a poor seal is a complaint. In fresh protein it is a product recall, a retailer conversation and a week you will not get back. So this is where we start the specification, and where we would expect any serious supplier to start it too.
Seafood, ground meat and wet pet food ask the same things of a machine: wet, fatty, uneven product, sealed gas-tight, kept cold from the line onwards.
Products in this category
| Product | What your line has to handle |
|---|---|
| Seafood – fresh | Gas-tight seals with free liquid in the pack, and no break in the chill |
| Seafood – frozen | A pack that survives the freeze and the handling after it |
| Ground meat | Fat at the seal line, and colour that holds under the film |
| Whole-muscle and portioned meat | Uneven product height, presented well and held in place |
| Wet pet food | Chunks and gravy dosed together, sealed for a long shelf life |
| Pet food trays and portions | Packs that arrive intact after a full distribution run |
What decides a fresh protein line
Oxygen, measured in the finished pack
The figure that matters is what is left inside a sealed pack at full line speed. Gas mixtures going in and samples run by hand both flatter the result. Ask for it the hard way and you will know exactly what shelf life you are buying.
Free liquid is the usual culprit
Purge, brine and melt water find their way to the seal line, and a tray that seals perfectly when dry can leak once liquid reaches the rim. A hotter seal is not the answer. Ask to see the machine run product that has been standing, not product straight off the prep table.
Vacuum skin or tray seal
Both present product well and they solve different problems. Vacuum skin holds an uneven or tall product in place and keeps purge from moving around the pack. Tray sealing with modified atmosphere buys shelf life with gas and generally runs faster. How much your product varies in height usually decides it.
The cold chain starts at the sealer
Product that warms while it waits for the machine has already lost shelf life, and no amount of chilling afterwards gives it back. Infeed handling is part of the specification, not a detail to sort out during commissioning.
Which class you need
Bought-in trays run on tray sealing — Apollo, Athena and the Hera range, sized to your trays, with Athena’s vacuum mode where the pack has to seal under vacuum rather than gas. Packs formed from film on the machine run on form fill and seal at 100–300 units per minute, which is where modified atmosphere is published. Wet pet food in bought-in cups or tubs runs on cup fill and seal at up to 120 cups per minute.
Have these to hand
Your pack format, the shelf life you have committed to, the temperature product arrives at the line, and how much your product varies in height. Those four narrow the choice quickly and keep the conversation on the things that decide it.