Bacon Business News asked industry-leading suppliers what solutions their bacon-processing customers are seeking from them.
First, Weber Inc., a provider of slicing solutions, based in Kansas City, Mo., chimes in with the most common question it hears and how it addresses the answer:
“How does a bacon producer deliver the quality of bacon their customers are demanding? That’s the latest trend Weber hears from customers. Consumers are demanding better quality food products and they are willing to pay a higher price for it. Grading technology helps bacon producers to differentiate bacon grades by identifying acceptable fat-lean percentage and bacon defects.
Bacon producers can manage a wide range of acceptable parameters using grading when slicing bacon.
Slice quality also goes hand-in-hand with presentation. Weber sees more bacon producers providing layout presentation for the A-grade bacon. Consumers can then see every perfect slice before purchasing.”
For more information on this or other slicing issues, contact Weber at: (800) 505-9591 or go to www.weberslicer.com.
Next, Multivac Inc., based in Kansas City, Mo., relates how it addresses the challenge of delivering on consumers’ demand for larger retail packages:
“With the popularity of bacon these days, processors continue to move toward larger consumer-friendly retail bacon packages. These large, ‘stack pack’ packages offer consumers more bacon than the typical 12-oz. or 16-oz. shingle package by offering 24-oz. and even 48-oz. packages. These packages feature reclosable zippers to allow for multiple uses. These features are often the topic during conversations with processors about bacon packaging. Multivac offers a variety of sizes of packaging machines which can be changed over from shingle packaging to stack-pack style while minimizing downtime.
The company also offers a full-line approach that incorporates unique conveying systems, which bring the shingles and/or stacks of bacon directly to the loading positions alongside the Multivac machine.
For more information on this or other bacon packaging issues, contact Multivac at (800) 800-8552 or go to www.multivac.com.
