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Penetrable casings: sorting out sausage chips
28.06.2010

Casings are required for production of sausages: they give shape to items of products, protect them from environmental effects. Initially for sausage production only natural casings were used for filling with forcemeat. With increasing demand for sausage, production of artificial casings started to develop intensively.

According to specialists of «Ostankino meat processing industrial complex» - the leader of processed meat production and semi-products in the central part of Russia – when developing artificial casing they strived to maintain all the best qualities of natural one, but get rid of its drawbacks. In this connection they developed a list of requirements to casings:

• consistency of diameter
• resistance to microorganisms
• meet increased hygienic standards
• high mechanical strength, elasticity
• easy pre-use treatment
• specific level of steam and gas permeability
• thermal and moisture resistance
• provision of sausage link filling and shaping process automation
• application of marking

Sausage casing can be classified according to a number of properties. The basic for classification suggested by «Ostankino meat processing industrial complex» are two parameters: material of sausage casing and level of gas or steam permeability (see the diagram). These factors are interrelated.

Gas and water very well permeate natural casings and artificial casings made of natural material. Artificial casings can be permeable and impermeable.

Collagen (protein) casings

Casings of reduced collagen are weaker than natural ones, but can be of different size, have small microbiological content and high homogeneity. Such casings can be edible and inedible. They are produced from epidermis of beef skin: first alcaline extraction is implemented, then swelling in water, shaping in form of mitten using extruder and then fixation of the required size and shape via collagen neutralization in alkaline media. Then casings are corrugated for arrangement of packing syringes on pins. Most often edible collagen casings are used for non-processed sausages and franks with diameter 22 to 30 mm. Collagen casings of greater diameter for higher strength are treated with aldehyde to form transverse bonds, but they are to be peeled off before eating.

Shelf life of the products in such casings is 3 to 5 days if ambient temperature is kept at the required level.

The properties of protein casings are most close to those of natural ones – they transfer smoke, do not lag from the filler during maturation, but have a number of important distinctions. These materials are more fit for technology, do not require sophisticated stages of preparation, and have stable properties – diameter and strength. Protein casings are more convenient for design purposes: their color can be varied, printing can be applied. As well as they are cheaper.

«The main advantage of protein casings is the natural character of the material - animal origin collagen is closest to natural casings in its organoleptic properties, - says Vitaly Smurygin, «Logos» Company Sales Director.

These are only edible casings of smaller diameter. The drawback is the "hard bite", but modern technologies have almost eradicated this feature. In middle diameters they are inedible, but with practically “natural” adhesion they are an ideal material for production of uncooked smoked and dried sausages. Relatively cheap price makes them popular for production of smoked and cooked sausages, but we are to be aware of dramatic losses during thermal treating and storage, and possible clipping features. They are rarely used for production of cooked sausages, apart from last splash of «doctor sausage in collagen casing», and, as a rule, require second package for shelf life prolongation. They are partially produced in Russia».

Cellulose and fibrous casings

Cellulose casings are produced from lint, high grade alfa-cellulose or wood paste. Through chemical treatment they obtain cellulose xanthogenate, dissolved in dilute alkali thus generating viscous mixture, which is then extruded via slots of different size into alkali solution for fixation of cellulose polymeric material. To enhance elasticity of package and obtain specified properties, edible quality glycerin can be added to casing matrix, propylene glycol, mineral oil, surface-active compound, colorants, smoke and water. Cellulose casings are inedible, but have the same advantages as collagen ones. They are usually corrugated into tubes 12.2 to 48.8 m meters long and stuffed at speed 76 to 92 m/min. In between thermal processing and packaging these casings are removed. Shelf life of products in them is usually 2 to 3 days.

Fibrous (viscose-reinforced) casings — penetrable membranes, transferring air, smoke and moisture. They can be compared to “tea bags”, but of more complex structure. Fibrous casings are produced via extrusion of regenerated cellulose to paper base and forming of mitten. As a result, strong inedible casing for products of greater diameter is obtained (50 to 150 mm), like Bologna sausage, poultry rolls, fermented sausages and turkey ham. To obtain barrier properties, fibrous casings are covered with polymeric material (from inside and outside), which contributes to prolongation of shelf life (applied especially for cooked sausages). Such casings are very convenient for products, thermal processing of which is held in water, for example, Bologna sausage, liver sausage, poultry rolls. Shelf life is 15 to 120 days if ambient temperature is kept at a required level. They are usually removed before cutting, portioning and packaging. It is possible to say that cellular and fibrous casings have high permeability, which makes possible to use them not only for cooked sausages and franks, but boiled and smoked and cooked and smoked ones, wieners and pork fat sausages. Producers try to make cellular and viscose-reinforced casings similar to natural one, therefore, they tone them. Products in them can be smoked, they suit practically for all kinds of sausages. But high permeability at the same time, means that the product can get dried up in the package, and the color on the film can permeate into it.According to Vitaly Smurygin, cellular and fibrous casings are an ideal natural material for mass sausage industry. They are easily clipped, smoked, preserved and the product in its organoleptic properties is closest to natural one. Their sole drawback is that they are the most expensive in the segment due to production features. However, on the other hand, they add exterior grandeur to the product. They are not produced in Russia of principle.

Permeable polyamide casings

Polyamide casings are casing of ХХI century. Polyamide thermosetting casings belong to wide class of barrier casings. They are basically inedible. Material for their production – polymeric film – has high mechanical strength, pricking resistance, thermosetting ability, low air and moist permeability, very low bacterial content etc. Polyamid, applied as raw material for production of barrier casings is a sanitary material. And the casings are safe for contact with the product. Taking account of impermeability properties, polyamide casings protect meat products from oxidation and bacterial spoilage. Shelf life of products in these casings is 15 to 60 days.

«Their main advantage – full unification of material, excellent clipping ability and decreased permeability as compared to artificial ones, enabling increment of outcome due to keeping moisture in the product, - says the expert. – That is polyamide casings practically substitute smoke crust, characteristic for smoked sausages and franks in collagen and cellulose and fibrous casings. They render possible obtaining good taste and smoke aroma if special, as a rule, more strict smoking regimes are observed. The same can be regarded as materials’ drawback – often severe smoking is neglected to save time and energy and, as consequence, taste of the product is different from traditional one. On the other hand, reduced mass exchange with ambient provides for maximum shelf life and keeping quality. For the most part they are produced in Russia though there are foreign counterparts».

According to him, operation with different types of permeable casings at existent technological lines must not provoke any difficulties, apart from realignment of lines for particular type of casing, which is always supposed. Mostly this refers to right selection of clips and clipping modes, as each type of permeable casings has its own requirements depending on material thickness and strength. «Producer’s recommendations regarding methods of preliminary soaking and level of re-stuffing of casing should not be neglected as well. When using permeable polyamide casings, regimes in smoking chambers, as a rule, should be changed in order to receive organoleptic properties close to traditional ones. On the whole, if the line is correctly adjusted, system problems are unlikely to occur, - says Vitaly Smurygin.

Expert’s Opinion: Market of all sausage casings, and in particular, permeable casings market depends upon the structure of sausage production industry as technological receipts may or may not stipulate smoking of the product. As “classical” technologies of sausage production anticipate obligatory smoking, the number of permeable sausage casings at the meat products market has “fireproof” minimum, defined by assortment minimum of classical smoked sausages, most expensive and profitable ones, produced practically by all meat processing enterprises. On the other hand, there always exists a trend of enriching taste of products which meet Technical Specification (or let consumer know that the product has been smoked) and, consequently, the number of produced products of this kind will determine additional sale segment of permeable (including nominally) casings. Summarizing the two factors, we can see that the trend of permeable casings sales growth is evident and appears to be loosely dependent upon economic conditions. Total sales result will be dictated by overall production of relevant sausage and the structure can vary significantly. For the present moment, the dominating factor for casing selection is its cheapness as a means for production cost reduction. In this connection, consumer either selects the cheapest equivalent inside the “traditional” (and relatively expensive) segment (I mean artificial casings), or part or even all nomenclature of products in synthetical (plastic) casings. This experience is sometimes successful, sometimes not, but is repeated persistently, as in current situation permeable polyamide can be truly contributing to save costs. Here, it should be noted, that inside the considered group, there exists and, as experience of the last year has shown, even aggravates both interspecific and intraspecific competition. There, inside the protein group of edible casings Czech Cutizin (the absolute leader, like Schottish Devro) contests American Koria and Spanish Colfan. And in the group of inedible protein casings – the ratio is different, and if Cutizin has fair results for “clothes” for uncooked smoked sausage, domestic producers prefer home-made collagen casing Belkozin (who has not managed to bring edible casing to market) for smoked and cooked and ready-cooked smoked sausage, or Polish Fabios. New players are not expected in this group in the nearest future, and state of affairs will depend upon ability of Cutizin to retrieve SPR quality under condition of flexible price policy, and whether change of Fabios ownership will manifest itself on quality and the degree of exaggeration of rumors foretelling soon end of Belkozin factory. In the area of artificial casings know-how’s are seldom met. As for casings for wiener and frank casings, Cutizin’s long striving to approach as close as possible sheep casing properties this year resulted in appearance of “Select” casing – yes, innovative and seemingly able to take its own niche, but it is difficult to say now what this niche will be like in future.Let me emphasize, that this sole news of the year competes with sheep casing but not other rivals inside the group. Cellular and fibrous casings keep enviable stability of quality and supplier structure, which is only import (mainly, «Visko Teepak», «Kalle Nalo» and «Walzroder», in a less degree «Vislase» and «Meatlon») – and as classical standard are constantly and increasingly pressed by polyamide counterparts. This market segment becomes really tight – penetrable polyamide have always been and still is a «hot short» of domestic producers and their efforts made it a kind of comme il faut for all the suppliers of this kind of products. Russia can be proud of polyamide casing from «Atlantis-Pack» «sheep casing nanosmoke» with the same area of application. It has good properties for product smoking and unlike foreign counterparts, it can be color overprinted. The rest home producers also presented their own penetrable polyamide casings: «Slava Luxe GP» by scientific-production association «Slava» and «NanoPro» by «Florex» LLC. The latter has added to assortment penetrable polyamide sausage casing «NanoLife». At the present time, novelties of foreign polyamide casing producers who have never been active before, started to come to Russian market. Polish GSD and GSN are the most interesting as they have very promising results both for smoking ability and storability of sausage products. We also should mention successful first tests of home-produced frank penetrable casing «LogoLine Smoke» («Logos» Company), produced basing on Polish material. In this way, there are quite many novelties in this segment and one may predict, that each of them will make efforts to take its own niche depending on price, marketing and other policies developed by promoting managers. Vitaly Smurygin, «Logos» Company Sales Director, PhD

SFERA - meat, meatprocessing - the branch analytical magazine for the top-managers and specialists of the companies in meatprocessing industry. It has been designed for the needs of the producers of sausage, semi-prepared meat foods, meat delicacy and other related products.

Author: Victoria Zagorovskaya

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