Bulk pack sausages stay fresh in plastic pail

Are large plastic pails suitable for sausages? German meat producer Metten Fleischwaren has no doubt at all: plastic pails with oxygen barrier protection from RPC Superfos confer big benefits - by the bucket-load, actually.

Long shelf life, light weight, easy handling and a brilliant look all spring to mind, when Tobias Metten, CEO of the German family-owned meat producer Metten, gets the opportunity to pinpoint key advantages of the SuperLift® plastic pail. The company uses this packaging solution for five types of sausages sold in bulk consumer packs, including Germany’s most popular kind of ’Bockwurst’, “Dicke Sauerländer” Bockwurst.

Big size with oxygen barrier protection
While the use of plastic pails for sausages by Metten is not in itself new, the cooperation between Metten and RPC Superfos is, however, fairly recent. Tobias Metten explains:

“About a year ago, we were looking for a new plastic packaging supplier and carried out some market research. RPC Superfos came in top as an innovative supplier of plastic packaging. Today, we are unambiguously pleased with our cooperation with RPC Superfos – one of the very few plastic packaging suppliers mastering oxygen barrier protection with In-Mould Labelling. Besides the high quality of the packaging solution, we value the steady and reliable supplies we get.”

The big sized solution for sausages is a 4.6 litres SuperLift® pail, 226 mm in diameter, with In-Mould Labelling oxygen barrier protection. The barrier label allows for a nine-month shelf life at ambient temperatures, i.e. without any cooling.

Brilliant look after autoclaving
To achieve this shelf life, Metten runs an autoclaving process at very high temperatures for 1½ hours.

“The pails look brilliant after autoclaving and, importantly, they not only safeguard the great taste of our sausages - our sausages still make right cracking sound when you bite into it,” he says.

Plastic pails are safe and stackable
The meat producer’s key target groups for the bulk packs are meat wholesalers, canteens and the foodservice industry. All end-users reap the benefits of plastic: there is no risk of harm when touching the rim of the container, plus it is easy to open and re-close the pail, while the handle and light weight make it hassle-free to carry. Moreover, it is easy to stack the pails at any time: before, during and after use.
“In professional kitchens where many sausage meals are prepared every day, finished packs tend to take up a lot of working space. Here, the stacking properties of the SuperLift® pails make a positive difference; where there is room for one pail, you can put a whole stack of empty pails. Also, in our sausage production, we value that each pallet can hold significantly more stacked pails compared to metal containers which you cannot stack. It saves warehouse space and cuts transportation costs,” Tobias Metten points out.  

Metten Fleischwaren and its brand “Dicke Sauerländer” is leader in the German tinned sausage market and, optimistically, Tobias Metten states that the sales figures are on the up - indicating that big plastic pails and great sausages are a perfect match.