Are there challenges (such as discolouration) when vacuum packing or packing fish in a MAP?
The most common cause of discolouration is the product not being fresh – for example white fish may look a little grey. Vacuum packing and MAP do little to increase the shelf life of fresh fish, therefore these packing methods are not commonly used for fresh fish products. Vacuum packing is more commonly used for cured fish – products like kippers and other smoked fish. 5. Have there been any changes in retailers’ or consumers’ preferences in the way fresh fish is packaged? Both retailers and consumers have become increasingly environmentally conscious, so it is important that packaging reflects these concerns. The LINPAC Rfresh range, which contains recycled post-consumer waste, has proved extremely popular with customers – prompting LINPAC to install a further two new extrusion lines at its Featherstone plant in the UK, doubling production capacity for Rfresh. In the same vein, LINPAC is constantly working to take weight out of its trays, and has recently made significant reductions
