ULMA develops sustainable leak-proof poultry packaging innovation

With millions of poultry processed in the UK throughout the year and consumer demand for sustainable packaging at an all-time high, ULMA Packaging believes its new leak-proof and hygienic Tight-Chicken launch has comes at a key time for the high-volume sector.

Developed using the company’s vertical bagmaker machines and based on ULMA’s existing Tight-Bag air extraction method, the new Tight-Chicken innovation removes air from the packaging without perforating the pack. The safe removal of air reduces the amount of plastic used per pack and removes the need for metal clips traditionally used when packaging poultry, while preventing leaks and contamination and enhancing the product’s visual appeal.

As well as being a more sustainable and hygienic poultry packaging option, Tight-Chicken achieves speeds of up to 35 packages per minute and guarantees the product’s weight remains unchanged. This ensures an unchanged sale price and that no further packaging is required at the point of sale.

“The poultry sector is under more pressure than ever before to reduce operational costs and minimise waste, but clearly hygiene standards cannot be compromised in pursuit of this aim,” said ULMA Packaging vertical packaging specialist, Steve Brooks. “Tight-Chicken was developed with these two priorities in mind – it reduces packaging required while ensuring a leak-proof solution from distribution chain, to store, to the customer’s home.

“On top of this, the Tight-Chicken innovation, which is available with ULMA’s VTI 400, VTI 500 and VTI 600 vertical bagmakers, can be synchronised with either a fully-automatic chicken conveyor belt system or a semi-automatic set-up with manual loading. In turn, this allows for more efficient operational processes for poultry processors.”