The purpose of this document is to educate meat processors and sausage makers about the advantages of continuous vacuum stuffing and how they can achieve greater control of their processing operations to meet customer demands, such as product variety, better presentation, weight control, and higher quality.

Problem Statement

In spite of the fact that many meat processors and sausage makers want to remain competitive and take their business to the next level by increasing their productivity and product quality, some still utilize manual production processes to produce their meat and sausage products. While some may be hesitant to acquire newer vacuum stuffing technology that may require changes to their production processes, others simply are not aware of the additional value that continuous vacuum filling and portioning systems deliver.

Solution

Continuous vacuum stuffing allows processors to improve overall operational efficiency and profitability through:

• Reduced direct labor costs – continuous production and automatic hopper loading systems result in less time expended on the filling process.
• Improved product quality and consistency – vacuum reduces the amount of residual air in the meat blend which improves weight control, slice ability of lunch meats, cured color formation, maturation process of fermented sausages while extending shelf-life. In addition, vacuum fillers with stainless steel rotary pumps are engineered to minimize product travel distance from the pump to the casing thereby maintaining particle definition while reducing smearing and heat build-up caused by prolonged equipment contact, resulting in a better bite and mouth feel in cooked sausages.
• Precise portion control –Servo-driven technology delivers instantaneous stop and start filling precision, which is critical to exact portioning and accuracy.
• Improved sanitation – less manual work reduces the number of opportunities for cross-contamination. Stainless steel equipment and easy access to easy-to-clean internal/moving parts also equals less risk for product contamination.
• Product line expansion – through the use of an automatic twist linker, a portioning device, extrusion units and/or formers, meat processors and sausage makers can present their finished product in a variety of shapes, colors, weights, and sizes.

Implementation

Examples of various applications are presented to provide an overview of the requirements for implementing a continuous vacuum filling/stuffing system.

Straight Filling/Stuffing Fine Ground Meat (beef, pork, poultry)
For those applications that utilize poly bags, plastic casings, and chub bags, processors can use the vacuum filling/stuffing system to manually straight fill products. Additionally, automatic clipping devices can be attached to the stuffers to straight fill higher volumes of product quickly and efficiently.

To realize the benefits of straight filling/stuffing fine ground meat using a continuous vacuum stuffer, a plant must meet the following requirements:

• Process at least 120-lb. batches of meat (beef, pork, or poultry)
  Benefit: Increased productivity through reduction in loading time.
  
• Connect a semi-automatic or automatic clipping device directly to the vacuum stuffer (operators can use the programmable, digital control panel on the stuffer to adjust the size of the portions). This setup allows the use of shirr casings eliminating the need for individual casings or bags.
  Benefit: Increased productivity through reduction in down time.
  
• Eliminate a process step by integrating the final grinding and portioning processes (coarse ground and pre-blended beef, pork, or poultry pieces not bigger than 20mm in size)
  Benefit: Increased productivity through reduction in down time and loading time.
  

Requirements for Koch Equipment’s line of Frey vacuum filler/stuffer systems include:

• For natural casings, different sizes of twisting horns (8 to 28mm) are required to match specific applications. A twist horn set consists of the twist horn and its corresponding silicon tip and adjusting ring.
• For twisting collagen, cellulose, plastic, or other artificial casings, a casing holder (one size only) and silicon collars (variable size) are required.

• Specially Designed Horn for Formed Meats – speeds filling of formed meats (e.g., meatloaf).
• Automatic Patty Former – cost efficient option for forming round, oval, or square patties at a rate of up to 66 patties per minute.
• Multi-horn Extruder System –simultaneously extrudes up to six skinless, fresh sausages. Equipped with a conveyor, paper dispenser, and portioner blade, this attachment enables processors to attain higher production capacity levels for skinless sausage and other value added products.
• Meatball Attachment – enables automatic production of meatballs ranging in size from 5 to 85mm in diameter.
• Portioning Device – this attachment features an automatic pneumatic knife that creates unit portions ranging in weight from 10 to 40 grams.
• Dosing Piston –this pneumatically driven device is ideal for the vertical filling of canned products.
• Grinding Head –this Servo-driven grinding head produces ground meat for portioning or straight-filling.

Summary

Through the use of digital portion control technology, vacuum stuffers enable processors to effortlessly and gently distribute and fill with precision an exceptional range of palate pleasing products. Whether one is producing a variety of high-quality linked sausages, formed meat products, or other specialty processed meats, vacuum stuffer systems and accessories deliver the product quality and consistency needed to increase sales and expand product lines.

Koch Equipment’s line of Frey vacuum stuffers range in size from 80-liter hoppers to 330-liter hoppers and filling capacities of 3,000 kilograms per hour to 7,000 kilograms per hour. The product line is suitable for new businesses or high-speed, industrial production.