Chub-style packaging has been an attractive packaging and production method for meat and poultry products since first introduced in the 1950’s.

The advantages of the climate friendliness of chub style packaging is generating more interest from processors as consumers are becoming increasingly aware of and concerned with sustainable packaging methods.

Marketplace conditions continue to impact how consumers shop for meat and poultry. In fact, over the past year, almost five of every 10 shoppers made changes to the kinds, cuts or brands of meat and poultry they bought, according to the Meat Institute’s 2024 Power of Meat report.

What’s more, ground beef pound sales rose $4.2% in 2023, while dollar sales rose 10.9%.

“The growing presence of case-ready and vacuum packaging has prompted a rise in the share of exact weight packages in self-service, especially ground beef,” said Melanie Bandari, senior manager of marketing for Oshkosh, Wis.-based Amcor Flexibles North America, who cited the Power of Meat’s data that showed in 2017, 12% of the packaging was exact weight and in 2024 that number nearly doubled to 23%.

That’s why along with the rest of the company’s meat and poultry packaging portfolio, Amcor has been working to develop more sustainable chub packages.

“Amcor offers chub film solutions as a part of our AmPrima portfolio that is designed to meet APR Design Guide standards to be recycle-ready,” Bandari said.

Kohl Schrader, PhD, director of applications for Mundelein, Ill.-based Poly-clip System, said chub packaging is gaining favor due to improved operational efficiencies and reduced production costs through the implementation of automation technologies.

The company works with chub-style products that utilize clip-closure technology with everything from fresh ground meat, poultry and sausage to dry and semi-dry sausages and deli/luncheon meats.

“Automatic clipping and hanging systems have become increasingly popular as processors continue to struggle with employee turnover and labor shortages,” she said. “Our FCHL lines ensure continuous production and therefore an increased output rate. The automatic double-clipper with integrated hanging line efficiently combines four processes in a way which saves on manpower: clipping with simultaneous looping, hanging of the loop and uniform positioning on the smoke sticks. As a result, it saves costs by up to 37% on personnel and increases the output rate by up to 25%.”

Operational efficiencies and increased throughput during stuffing and clipping of chub-style products continue to be a key factor that Poly-clip’s business partners focus on when making a purchasing decision with regard to clip closure technology.

Getting Noticed

Today’s omni-channel, online/offline, trend-driven retail space is changing at warp speed and brand owners need to command attention in store more quickly, clearly and dramatically than ever before.

“Chub film allows for more branding area versus a traditional overwrap tray format,” Bandari said. “Brand owners can create an engaging first impression with visual cues that embody a product’s flavor or texture.”

Source: Amcor

Flexible Tech

Amcor’s chub packaging is extremely flexible as it’s available in 1-, 2-, 3-, 5-, 10- and 20-lb applications in either plain or printed.

“Amcor can surface or reverse print on clear or white film,” Bandari said. “The film can be used in either hot or cold fill applications. Our packaging offers exceptional machinability on high-speed dedicated VFFS equipment, and the puncture-resistant film withstands abuse common in production, shipping and handling. In coex chub for ground beef, Amcor’s new surface ink technology has high scuff resistance to protect your graphics/brand in distribution.”

Poly-clip System offers a wide range of products that are currently filled to produce large calibers and enormous lengths. Slicing logs, for example, have a very high weight per product.

“We offer clip closure technology that can produce chub-style products that are as small as 18 mm in diameter all the way up to 250 mm in diameter,” Schrader said. “Our clip closure technology is capable of utilizing a wide range of casing types including natural, collagen, fibrous, plastic, nettings, pre-smoked or spice coated. Casings can be closed with a single or double clip, depending on if the casing is precut/clipped/tied or in shirred form.”

Filling Matters

Jay Wenther, PhD, applications and tech services manager for Lake Forest, Ill.-based Handtmann Inc., works the vacuum filling process of chub packaging with regards to ground beef, 1-lb, 2-lb and 10-lb chubs, whether that be breakfast sausage or ground beef.

“Things are coming to us as raw material and we go through our vacuum filler technology or our high vacuum fillers that reduce the amount of air in that product,” he said. “We team up with people like Tipper Tie or Poly-clip, and we become more of the secondary machine. They send the signal to us, and we pump the filling material into the casing and they take over the clipping. There’s a lot of communication between us to maximize volume and output.”

Fresh focused

Poly-clip System’s R-ID Clip design offers a unique profile of the clip which results in an even greater holding force on clip closure, according to Schrader. And thanks to the round contour of the open clip and the oval contour of the closed clip, a highly uniform pressure is applied to the casing almost throughout the clip closure area, thus improving clip safety and tightness.

“The clipping punch and die, which are precisely tailored to the clip, also contribute to an extremely uniform closure pattern that inevitably leads to a consistently tight and visually clean clip closure,” she said. “Depending on the product involved, bacteria-proof clip closure is possible with the use of high barrier plastic films, increasing shelf-life of finished products.”

Amcor’s traditional chub film protects the product and extends the shelf life with superior oxygen barrier.

“In ground poultry applications where odor is a concern, Amcor’s chub film contains odor absorbing technology that allows use of barrier in the film to extend shelf life while keeping the product fresh,” Bandari said. “Traditionally, non-barrier film was required in ground poultry in order to reduce odor, thus limiting the shelf life of the product. Odor absorbing film is available in clear or white film options.”