Heat-sealing food: discover its secrets

One of the secrets of food preservation is thermosealing, a technique that guarantees the adequate preservation of perishable products for longer periods of time.

For this reason, it is a method that is widely accepted in the world of food. Its use is common for the sale of raw products such as meat and vegetables, and in processed products such as sandwiches and cut fruits.

In order to take advantage of them, you must have a heat sealer in your store and, most importantly, have the best heat sealable containers suitable to protect the food you sell in your business.

Follow us and discover the secrets of heat-sealing food, its types, how it is done and some advantages of this technique.

What is food thermosealing?

Food thermosealing is the process by which products are packaged with the help of a thermosealing machine, after applying heat and pressure to a plastic film.

Heat sealing is used to isolate packaged products from harmful agents such as mould or bacteria.

These are the types of food heat sealing

There are several types of food thermosealing, which use different sealing systems according to the type of food to be preserved, thus ensuring the conservation of food.

Among the types of heat-sealed foods we can mention

Cold sealing

The cold thermosealing technique does not use heat but requires pressure to seal the plastic containers.

Generally, cold sealing is used to preserve meats, chocolates and ice cream.

Hot sealing

Hot sealing is one of the main techniques used to preserve food on the market.

To perform hot sealing on food it is necessary to apply heat and pressure, in this way the thermoplastics contract eliminating the air present in the plastic film or tray.

Hot sealing has several categories that can be used according to the user’s preference, these are: continuous, impulse, induction, hot wire or hot bar heat sealing.

Thermosealed in bags

Heat-sealing in bags is a technique used to pack foods and preserve non-perishable products such as cereals and grains.

The bag sealing machine requires heat and pressure to seal the heat-sealable plastic films.

Vacuum sealing

Vacuum thermosealing is a technique that allows the food to be preserved for longer.

With this type of thermosealing it is possible to maintain the smell, color and flavor of the food after completely eliminating the air present inside the package.

How is heat-sealing done?

Thermosealing as a food preservation technique will depend on the production need and is performed by three sealing processes: automatic, manual and semi-automatic.

Automatic heat sealing

Automatic heat sealing is used to cover large scale productions, offering in three simple steps the sealing and automatic output of the package with the food.

The employee introduces the tray with the food in the thermosealing machine. The thermosealing machine wraps the food tray with the plastic film, sealing and cutting the film.

After this process, the machine ejects the thermosealed container.

Manual thermosealing

Manual heat sealing requires more work and attention. It is used in the production of small-scale seals.

Manual thermosealing is carried out by a different process than automatic sealing. The employee introduces the tray with the food into the machine. Then the plastic film is placed on the tray and the operator lowers the plate.

Finally, the sealing and cutting of the film is done automatically by the thermosealing machine, the plate is lifted and the thermosealed package is removed.

Semi-automatic thermosealing

The semi-automatic thermosealing is considered a process in which the automatic and manual processes of thermosealing are involved.

The employee introduces the tray with the food in the thermosealing machine. The thermosealing machine wraps the plastic film.

The operator lowers the plate and the machine automatically seals and cuts the plastic film.

Heat sealing with gas injection

The thermosealing technique with gas injection is an option used for vacuum packaging preserving the characteristics of the food.

This conservation process is carried out by injecting the amount of inert gas into the interior of the tray, sealing the upper layer of the plastic film that will maintain the attractive appearance of the packaged food.

Packaging that can be used in the process

For the sealing process it is necessary to have heat-sealable, resistant containers that guarantee the conservation of the food.

Among them we have:

• Cellulose pulp packaging
• PEP packaging
• Porex packaging
• Gastronomic packaging
• Polypropylene packaging

How are the heat-sealing machines?

Among the main characteristics of heat-sealing machines, we can mention

• They adapt to any type of heat-sealable packaging.
• The cleaning and maintenance of the thermosealing machine is simple.
• It has a wide variety of accessories and parts of the machinery available to keep it in optimal conditions.
• It offers various types of performance that facilitate the food thermosealing process.
• It guarantees the conservation and protection of food during the transfer from the factory to the destination trade.

Why use heat-sealing to preserve food?

There are many advantages to using heat sealing for food preservation, among them we have

• It offers a more attractive and hygienic presentation of the food for the consumer.
• The heat-sealing allows the food to be kept in excellent condition, preventing the food from being crushed.
• The use of heat-sealing facilitates the storage of food in suitable plastic containers or heat-sealable trays.
• It allows for the packaging of large quantities of food in short periods of time.
• It can be used in any type of business such as butchers, fishmongers, delicatessens, fruit shops, supermarkets, catering companies, take away and restaurants.

Thermosealing failures to be avoided

In order to guarantee the conservation of the food, it is necessary to make sure that the thermosealing of the package is in optimal conditions.

A failure in this process would result in contamination of the food by external agents.

In order to avoid failures in heat sealing it is necessary:

• Verify that the containers and plastic films are in optimal conditions.
• After the packaging process, make sure that the surfaces of the plastic film and the cut of the seal are clean and without holes that could put at risk the hermetic seal of the package.

Better products for heat sealing of food

In Monouso’s online store, you will find a wide variety of heat-sealable products that are ideal for preserving your food and for safe food transport without breakage or spillage.

Among the characteristics of the thermosealable containers available at Monouso we can mention

• They preserve the products under vacuum.
• Can be used in microwaves
• They have various capacities that adapt to your needs.
• Their price is economical.

We also offer you a reel of film for thermosealing as an ideal barrier method to present your products to your customers with the quality that characterizes you.

If you need a budget to customize your packaging contact us and enjoy a convenient solution for your business.

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