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Migros 'MAPS' out a meat strategy

The Migros chain of supermarkets in Switzerland relies on barrier materials and centralized, modified-atmosphere packaging for its case-ready fresh ground beef.

Formed beef patties are automatically dropped into formed trays by a retractable conveyor system
Formed beef patties are automatically dropped into formed trays by a retractable conveyor system

Case-ready meat packaging from centralized facilities is firmly established as a preferred method of supplying meat to the 900 or so supermarkets that make up the Migros chain in Switzerland. The company cites quality, appearance, consistency, reduced waste, and logistical and distribution advantages that come with extended shelf life as factors that led management to commit so heavily to case-ready packaging of meat.

Vacuum-packaging in barrier materials is the technology of choice for steaks, chops and roasts. The dark purple color that meat acquires when deprived of oxygen apparently doesn't bother consumers in Switzerland as it does in the U.S. Ground beef, however, is another story. Migros marketers are of the opinion that when ground beef is vacuum packaged, it looks crushed and unappealing.

So for ground beef, Migros prefers modified-atmosphere packages that are evacuated and back-flushed with gases. The six-day shelf life of this technology is shorter than the eight days achievable with vacuum packaging. But the bright red appearance of the meat, thanks to the high oxygen content of the gas-flush mixture that makes the meat "bloom," is something consumers really respond to, say the marketers.

"The quality and color of the [ground] meat is clearly best in these packages," says Hans Heinzelmann, head of meat marketing at Zurich-based Migros.

And cost? According to Heinzelmann, what the company gains in appearance, consistency and quality "is more important than the cost of the packaging." Suffice it to say the firm believes the technology yields acceptable profit margins.

Supply chain very different

Unlike supermarket chains in the U.S. that market meat from independent suppliers, Migros gets most of its meat from company-owned subsidiaries such as Micarna S.A. This slaughtering/processing/packaging house in Courtepin, Switzerland, supplies three of the 12 distribution centers serving Migros stores. All three are in the western half of the country, the farthest about 150 km (93 mi) away from Courtepin.

At Micarna's huge facility, the first MAP-style ground beef system to win acceptance was a vertical form/fill/seal machine that packs meat in flexible pouches (see sidebar). That system has been in production for about four years.

Shortly after the vf/f/s machine was installed, Micarna added a flow-wrap system for formed patties packed into preformed trays. But that system was replaced in late '97 by a Tiromat/ Powerpak thermoform/fill/seal system from Convenience Food Systems (Avon, MA). Measuring 16 m (52') from end to end, the Powerpak line includes tray thermoforming, loading stations, backflushing, lidding, weigh/price labeling and metal detection. It's also flexible, a critical requirement for a packer like Micarna, where it's not unusual to produce 20 different package configurations in an eight-hour shift.

This flexibility is a function of the machine's configuration. Two separate forming stations and two lidding stations make it easy to set up the next job before the current one is even done. And all set-up is handled at a touchscreen control panel.

"In both forming stations we can select at the control panel the depth of draw we wish," says Micarna packaging manager Pius Nietlispach. Trays can be as shallow as 40 mm (1.58") or as deep as 100 mm (3.95"). "It's quite a range. We use whatever we need for a particular order."

The orders come in once or twice daily from the three distribution centers that Micarna serves. Each center services about 40 supermarkets. Individual stores order each day by computer to the distribution center, which in turn sends the requirements for all 40 stores to Micarna that same day. By the next day, the distribution center has the shipment from Micarna and organizes each store's order of ground beef for delivery that day or the next.

Barrier materials

Packaging materials used by Micarna are supplied by Convenience Food Systems (CFS). Both forming and lidding webs incorporate barrier layers to keep oxygen out and back-flushed gases in. The TiroMap XPP forming web, with a total thickness of 1곚 microns (50 mils), is a foamed polypropylene/ethylene vinyl alcohol/polyethylene material produced in CFS's Romont, Switzerland, facility. It has an oxygen transmission rate of 2cc/sq m/24 hr.

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