Poultry

Since the issue of red colour is non-existent for poultry, utilising polyolefin films as an alternate form of packaging is a common phenomenon.

Standard poultry package consists of an EPS tray overwrapped with a stretch PVC film or a polyethylene or polypropylene copolymer shrink film that can first be stretched over the package and then heat-shrunk to hold the packaged parts firmly in place. The firmer wrap obtained with PE or PP copolymer shrink films is used to avoid leakage.

Poultry producers are offering value added products that are marinated, breaded, or contain spices to simplify preparations at home compared to beef. These products require more complex packages since they tend to move more slowly off the supermarket shelves needed for a longer shelf life. Most use MAP in multilayer trays fitted with multilayer film lids. The lids are usually laminations that incorporate PET or nylon for physical protection, PVDC or c for barrier, and EVA or ionomers to produce hermetic seals. PET film bags can be used for processed poultry parts such as turkey nuggets and sticks. The film is metallized for increased protection against oxygen.

In summary, PVC film still dominates the poultry packaging market. Polyolefin shrink and multilayer barrier films, while growing rapidly, have only a minor share.