High-quality packaging solutions for meat and sausage products play an important role in extending shelf life, preserving freshness, and improving food safety. At the same time, once the PPWR enters into force, packaging materials will increasingly need to meet sustainability requirements. According to Südpack, the most effective measures in this area include, on the one hand, reducing resource consumption and the carbon footprint through smarter packaging design, greater material efficiency, and effective recycling of plastic fractions already in circulation. On the other hand, this means increasing the share of recycled materials, recyclable mono-materials, and bio-based alternatives. The company indicates that its product and service portfolio is intended to demonstrate that more environmentally friendly concepts can be implemented even under demanding market conditions. As a family-owned film manufacturer, Südpack has been developing high-performance films and packaging concepts for many years. The company, headquartered in Ochsenhausen in Upper Swabia, adopted a sustainability-oriented direction early on and positions itself as an entity supporting the circular economy in the packaging industry. As a result, the company's film portfolio is intended to be aligned with current market requirements and projects developed for specific customer needs.
Südpack bases its offering on extrusion expertise, modern technological capabilities, project experience, and a focus on customer needs. The company currently offers both conventional laminates for multiple applications and material-efficient, recyclable structures designed for various packaging types as well as different product and machine requirements. The portfolio includes matched top and bottom webs, from rigid and flexible films for MAP and vacuum packaging to solutions intended for the production of various pouch systems. The manufacturer emphasizes that all developments are designed to meet retail requirements, sustainability criteria, and consumer expectations. At the same time, they are intended to ensure a high level of product protection, longer shelf life, and process stability.
Longer shelf life and less food waste
The company states that plastic packaging, whether based on laminate structures or recyclable mono-materials, extends the shelf life of fresh ground meat, steaks, roasts, chops, spreadable and cooked sausages, ham, sliced cold cuts, and frankfurters. Packaging is intended to protect the product until consumption, helping preserve aroma and freshness while reducing spoilage. In this context, it is an important element in reducing food waste.
According to Südpack, the good processability of packaging materials allows food producers and packaging companies to increase efficiency and throughput, reduce waste and downtime, and achieve consistent process results. Even very thin, recyclable PP- or PE-based material structures are said to run smoothly on standard packaging machines. An additional element of the offering is said to be appropriately matched top and bottom webs developed for high process and packaging reliability.
According to the manufacturer, high-performance films from its sustainable range provide the same level of performance as conventional film laminates. This is said to result from good sealing properties and integrated barrier performance. The company also points to environmental and economic benefits across the entire value chain, linked to lower resource consumption, lower weight, and lower logistics and waste management costs.
Solutions for specific applications
In the sliced cold cuts segment, Südpack has developed a packaging concept for MAP applications based on a top and bottom web from the PP-based Pure-Line family, which is therefore recyclable. The bottom web is intended to provide good thermoformability and high stability, while the peelable barrier top web is designed to enable longer shelf life and clean package opening.
The thermoformable Multifol line, in turn, is intended to provide effective protection for ground meat, roasts, frankfurters, and chops thanks to high puncture resistance. According to the company, both the conventional and recyclable laminate structures in this family are among the most frequently selected products in its portfolio. In addition to good sealing properties, they are also said to offer high transparency, important from the point of view of product presentation at the point of sale.
The offering also includes SafePeel Clear NT, a next-generation transparent lidding film designed for sealing to mono-PP trays. At a thickness of 37 µm, this material is, according to the manufacturer, more than 25% thinner than the previous version. The company states that the solution ensures high sealing performance even when the sealing area is contaminated, which means it can protect delicate and highly perishable products such as poultry, steaks, and self-service products. At the same time, an opening solution has been applied to make the package easier for the consumer to open.
Different applications are intended for the PP- and PE-based mono-materials in the CarbonLite series. They can be used, among other things, as a lightweight PP flow pack for ground meat or as a stable stand-up PE doypack for salami sticks. Among the key features of this series, the company lists high barrier performance from the perspective of product safety, process reliability at high output rates, recyclability, and low material consumption.
