Finnish finesse

Indeed, the firm has a track record of developing innovative packaging for Scandinavian conditions. In a country like Finland, where the home market is relatively small but geographically scattered, the distribution channel has to be efficient and advanced. And to maintain their original characteristics and move fluently through the different stages of the logistic chain, meat and poultry often need to be sold prepacked. The same development is emerging throughout continental Europe.

As a result, Huhtamaki's​ polypropylene ProMeat trays, which suit for gas flushing (MAP) and provide 10-14 days shelf life for fresh red meat, pork and poultry are being distributed across the continent. The trays come in multiple colours and sizes that fit exactly in the transportation boxes used solely for meat distribution.

The company claims that the rigid ProMeat trays run well on all industrial packing lines and the range consists of modular sized trays such as M4, M6 and M8. The length and width for each tray model is fixed, but the height can vary. Depending on the tray height either two (2 x 6 trays), three (3 x 6 trays) or four (4 x 6 trays) layers of M6 trays can be efficiently packed in one transportation box. Similar transportation boxes are being used by the whole meat processing and food industry in Finland.

In addition to the modular sized polypropylene ProMeat trays, Huhtamaki also offers a special tray range suited for barrier display film (BDF) packaging, where the film is stretched and sealed around the entire tray enabling gas flushing. On top of that, a range of trays that come with an EVOH barrier layer, suited for more demanding shelf life requirements, is available. The sealing layer on the barrier trays can be of polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP) depending on the top film chosen by the customer.