It’s no secret that keeping your produce fresh is a vital part of running a successful butchers. Fresh meet is pretty much your bread and butter (so to speak), so you’ll definitely want a system in place that keeps your meat as fresh as possible over a longer period of time.

If you’re not already familiar with vacuum packing, it’s essentially the name given to the process of removing the air from a meat-filled, plastic film package, then sealing it. Originally, vacuum packing was done as a way to help avoid meat from spoiling as it was transported over long distances. This storage method became increasingly more common over the years as people started to realise that vacuum packing also improved the shelf life of products.

Vacuum packing provides a number of benefits (which we’ll get into below), and here at Butchers Equipment Warehouse, we supply a range of high-quality Henkelman vacuum packers to help you keep your meat fresh and tasty. So here are our top tips on how to get the best out of the process!

Why is vacuum packing important?

To put it simply, vacuum packing helps to preserve your produce by significantly slowing the growth of fungus, mould and oxygen-induced bacteria like mesophiles, psychrotrophic, thermophiles, and psychrophiles. These are what cause your meat to discolour and give off that rancid smell that indicates to us that it’s going off. Plus, bacteria also breaks down organic enzymes in meat, including iron-containing pigments in their protein which can cause serious illness if consumed. So, by depriving the mould and fungus of oxygen, you essentially starve them of one of the key elements they need to grow, which halts their development as a result!

Vacuum packing your meat allows it to stay fresh for up to 3-5 times longer than it does when stored in store bought packaging. To illustrate just how effective vacuum packing is at slowing down the growth process we mentioned above, a meat joint that’s stored in conventional packaging will last 6-12 months in the freezer. When vacuum sealed, it can last between 2-3 years. What’s more, a joint of meat that’s stored in conventional packaging will only last 1-2 days in the fridge once opened. When vacuum sealed, it can last up to 2 weeks.

Keeps your meat moist and helps fight freezer burn

As well as its ability to add significant time to the shelf-life of your produce, vacuum packing also decreases the likelihood that your produce will suffer from freezer burn. When the water within your produce evaporates, it causes freezer burn (those annoying white splotches that form on your meat that cause it to taste like rubber). Since vacuum packing blocks out oxygen from making contact with your meat, the moisture within it can’t evaporate, meaning it stays fresh and juicy!

Is there anything that can’t be vacuum packed?

We’d highly recommend using vacuum packing as your prime method for storing your raw meat. However, there are a couple of products, that you might not necessarily stock if you’re a butcher, that aren’t quite suited to this method of packaging:

  • Raw mushrooms - since they go through a natural ripening process, fresh mushrooms may decay faster if vacuum sealed.
  • Bananas - vacuum packing quickens their ripening time.
  • Raw garlic and onion - these produce a natural gas that may result in a loss of pressure in the vacuum.
  • Soft cheeses - soft cheeses such as blue cheese, brie, ricotta and so on can actually produce mould faster when vacuum packed.
  • Cooked veg - hot steam from cooking or steaming vegetables may cause a loss in a vacuum, which in turn makes the process of vacuum packing them a bit pointless.

As a general rule, we’d recommend you stick to raw meats when it comes to vacuum packing.

That’s pretty much all the basics covered! Interested in increasing the shelf-life of your meat products? We’ve got a fantastic range of Henkelman vacuum packers that you can browse at your leisure, right here on our website. For over 30 years, we’ve supplied tried and tested, five star rated brands to all our clients. With our extensive range of butchers machinery, accessories, and knives, we know our butchers equipment inside out. Give us a call on 01254 427721 and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have!