COVID’s impact on the nation’s food spending hasn’t slowed and Americans continue to enjoy and rely on deli meats. This results in a need for increased capacity in processing plants and requires many meat and poultry processors to make operational changes to ensure quality and safe production of the products today’s consumers expect.
Deli Meats are Here to Stay
Vice President of Sustainability for The North American Meat Institute Eric Mittenthal stated in 2021, “Very clearly, deli meats have been helping Americans navigate this new world since March 2020. This IRI data verifies two things – how much people rely on the convenience and nutrition of deli meats, and how effective deli departments have been at meeting consumers’ needs for pre-sliced and grab-&-go options.”
One of the most popular deli meat categories is salami – a dry sausage that requires high, solid pressure to produce in a deli log meat format. As such, meat processors are constantly in search of the best tools of the trade. The production of high-quality deli meats requires multiple steps, each designed to add value to the finished products. For processors, vacuum stuffing and pumping plays a critical role in the production of various deli meats.
Hydraulic vs Servo-Driven Vacuum Stuffers and Pumps for Deli Meat Production
The types of vacuum stuffing equipment designs vary and each offer different attributes. Insufficient air removal during the stuffing process can irreparably compromise the quality of deli meats and be the weakest link in an otherwise sound process. Research indicates that among the three varieties of vacuum filler/vacuum stuffer technologies (vane cell, screw feed and twin-piston) available, those featuring twin-piston operation deliver superior results. By ensuring maximum air removal, product density is between 3-5% higher when using a twin system.
Twin-piston vacuum stuffing and pumping systems feature either hydraulics or servo motors for operation. For years, meat processors have been trending toward removal of hydraulics from their food plants due to food safety and personnel safety reasons. While servo-driven vacuum stuffers are an option, there are downsides to producing dry sausages and other applications with servo-driven technology that require the high pressures obtained only through hydraulically powered vacuum stuffers.
Utilizing vacuum stuffing and pumping systems without hydraulics isn’t always possible if the application isn’t a good fit for today’s servo-driven technology. Many deli meat applications, however, do lend themselves to servo-driven vacuum stuffing and pumping whereby a twin-piston design is desired for the production of high-quality premium deli meats. Servo-driven models such as Marlen’s OptiServ 340 Vacuum Stuffer is ideal for low-pressure stuffing applications such as sectioned and formed ham and turkey deli loaves that are injected and/or marinated with free liquid. When considering an OptiServ 340, the distance of travel from the pumping system to downstream equipment such as sizers and clippers is important for perfect portioning. In fact, servo-driven vacuum stuffers are ideal for products requiring less than 10 feet of pumping to ancillary equipment.
In addition to achieving optimal results and the highest yields from pulling the highest vacuum compared to its rivals, Marlen’s OptiServ 340 also reduces one’s utility expense as a result of less energy consumption for servo-driven models over hydraulics models.
In the end, it always comes down to product-specific applications and needs. If a meat processor needs higher density stuffing resulting in greater yield improvement and has a desire to utilize a servo-driven twin-piston vacuum stuffing and pumping system, Marlen’s product and application experts will consult, collaborate, and partner with processors to determine the right vacuum stuffing solution for their business.
