Articles & Handy Tips
Vacuum Pack Bags Now In Stock!
Extensive range of vacuum machines, chambers, and packers are available.
Articles & Handy Tips
Product Info: Vacuum Pack Bags
Flat bags for commercial use and vacuum chamber machines, ribbed bags for heavy duty and external vacuum seal machines, vacuum roll bags and tubing...
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Packaging for ready-made meals for home delivery
With increased demand across Australia for pre-made home delivered food in recent months we’ve had an upsurge in questions from customers about how to best package ready-made meals for retail sale and home delivery.
By far the two most popular methods of packaging ready-made meals for sale is vacuum sealing and band sealing stand up pouches.
Vacuum sealing is good for take-home meals such as lasagnes, pizzas and pizza bases, curries, cooked vegetables and frozen dumplings. Vacuum sealers come in large and small sizes. They are generally used with vacuum bags and assist in aiding shelf life of fresh cooked food and produce by between 4 and 7 days. For restaurants and cafes that are now cooking main meals and offering take-away and delivery to customers, vacuum sealing has made life much more convenient. The benefits of vacuum sealing are:
- Products are pre-prepared before ‘rush hour’
- Portion control is managed
- Shelf-life is maintained
- Meals can be frozen in the vacuum bag before or after sale
- Professional looking finished product.
- Cooked meals in stand up pouches can be labelled and branded.
For products such as curries, soups, meatballs, noodles, rice dishes, dry pasta, and pre-made desserts, stand up pouches sealed with a band sealer is a good option for take-away packaging. A vertical band sealer makes packaging take home food quick and easy. Benefits of stand up pouches sealed with a band sealer are:
- Professional and hygienic presentation
- Pouches are easy to fill with freshly cooked meals
- Quick and mess-free sealing using a band sealer
- Food can be frozen before or after sales in stand up pouches
- Different sized portions are possible due to different sized pouches.
- Easy to store and transport
- Can be professionally labelled and branded
Contact us now on (03) 9428-1652 and we can customise the right packaging solution for your take-home meals, we cater for all businesses and budgets.
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Which Vacuum Sealer Machine Do I Need?
Whether you are vacuum sealing your produce for commercial reasons or simply sealing your leftovers at home there are numerous benefits to owning a vacuum sealing machine. In this article, we’ll discuss the benefits of vacuum sealers and which one is right for you.
Benefits Of Vacuum Sealing Produce
Owning a vacuum sealer at home will save you time as you can cook large helpings of food, divide the leftovers and seal them for storage in the freezer to pull out at a later date.
It will also save you money as you can purchase bulk portions of produce, such as meat, which you can divide, vacuum seal and store in the freezer. By doing this, you will be reaping the massive cost savings of buying smaller portions of meat more regularly. You will also have fresh, perfect sized servings of produce at your disposal as you need them.
If you’re looking to preserve your food for longer, then vacuum sealing is the perfect solution. By cutting off the food’s access to oxygen, you will be preventing the growth of bacteria or mould that cause food to spoil. Vacuum sealed food has an increased shelf life (3-5 times longer than a standard plastic container or plastic bag) and lasts longer when stored in the refrigerator or freezer. Frozen food that’s vacuum sealed can last up to 2-3 years and up to 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator, which is substantially longer than if it weren’t vacuum sealed.
This is also beneficial for commercial use, as produce that is vacuum sealed and packed away for shipping to stores and customers will last far longer than unpackaged produce.
Commercial Vacuum Sealers VS Domestic Vacuum Sealing Machines
Convinced you need a vacuum sealer? Great! Now you just need to decide which model you need. The type of vacuum sealer machine you need will depend on your intended use – domestic, commercial, or perhaps something in between. Each vacuum sealing machine comes with different features and benefits, below we will discuss some of the strengths of both domestic and commercial machines.
Domestic Vacuum Sealer
Domestic models are less powerful than their larger, industrial counterparts, and require channelled or embossed vacuum bags which assist the machine to draw the air out of the bag prior to sealing. However, this is made up for by the capacity to be easily transported and used at home. The smaller size of the domestic vacuum sealer models also makes them easy to store at home.
Food preservation and storage is made easier, as the size of stored food is reduced and preservation time is extended.
Some smaller models are also available for medium-level commercial use.
Commercial Vacuum Sealer
The larger, industrial, ‘in-chamber’ vacuum sealer machines can use either channelled or flat vacuum bags as they are more powerful.
As the machines are large in size, their ability to be stored and transported is made a little more difficult, but not impossible. However, this is a worthy trade-off as they are capable of sealing more items in one cycle than a smaller model, boosting production efficiency and proving more beneficial in a commercial capacity.
As the commercial vacuum chambers and sealing machines are larger, they also have the ability to seal bulkier items or stand up pouches of powder or liquid. Some models also allow gas flush for preservatives and other gases to be flushed into the bag for better preservation of certain food items. This is beneficial for food preservation methods and providing a professional presentation of produce for retailers.
If you want more information about which vacuum sealer machine will be best for you, contact the food packaging supplies experts at Venus Packaging on (03) 9428 1652 or contact us online.
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What’s the best way to package food for retailers?
If you have any last minute pre-Christmas packaging concerns, consider some of the following machines and practices to ensure your product looks right and gets to its destination in one piece!
Shrink-a-pack – is good for large or small, straight edged products, although also effective on odd shaped items. Easy and very quick to use and comes in a variety of widths to suit you packing needs. It’s a simple shrink-wrapping system using PVC, polypropylene or polyolefin shrink film, and an included heat gun that shrinks the film neatly and cleanly to the product. Ideal for Christmas hampers and prize give-aways, used widely in retail shops, and fresh food operations, to securely seal product, avoid damage, and maintain freshness.
Vacuum Sealers and Chambers – For vacuum packed fresh goods for Christmas from everything from small goods to roasted meats, try using a vacuum sealer or larger vacuum chambers. The VH329 vacuum Sealer is our entry level vacuum sealer.
VHIB Impulse Heat Sealers — The original and most popular heat sealer that seals items in polypropylene and polythene bags, tubing and stand up pouches. Can be used to seal and package a huge variety of bagged fresh produce and any bagged item really! These heat sealers are cost effective and very easy to use.
Band Sealers — The affordable bulk bag sealing solution for LDPE, PE, PP, PVC, cello and layered barrier bags, and is very popular to seal the tops of stand up pouches. With one compact machine you can set up your own packaging line. Simply feed the filled bags in at one end and they come out the other with their tops sealed. These types of band sealer machines are used broadly in food packaging, for everything from mixed lettuce leaves, to biscuits, chocolates and soups.
And we carry a broad supply of bags – magic seal, pouches, carry bags and poly bags to ensure your product looks good and travels well.
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Is Vacuum Sealing Coffee in Plastic Bags a Good Idea?
Packing or sealing products in an airless environment has long been an effective way to protect items and enhance shelf life. But most importantly vacuum sealing keeps good fresh.
So yes, vacuum sealing coffee is the best way to keep it fresh, but it must be in the right bag. The right bags are not simple poly bags or plastic bags; you must use vacuum bags.
Good quality vacuum bags are sealed on 3 sides and have multiple layers and satisfactory thickness to provide the maximum barrier to oxygen. It is this barrier to oxygen which will ultimately preserve the coffee and keep it fresh for longer. In addition, foil pouches or foil coated vacuum bags also keep the light out which goes further to protect the freshness of the coffee beans.
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What is the best vacuum sealer?
What is the best vacuum sealer?
When looking to purchase a new vacuum sealer or vacuum chamber you must consider the following questions:
- Am I using this in a home environment to help keep food fresher for longer?
- How many packages am I likely to do in a day?
- What is the size of the product I am going to vacuum pack?
- Should I use nitrogen flushing when sealing my products?
- How do I want my vacuum sealed product to look?
Am I using this in a home environment to help keep food fresher for longer?
If you are purchasing for home or domestic use, it is assumed that you will be vacuum sealing only a small number of packages daily or weekly. You will need a simple vacuum sealer. The domestic machines are a cost-effective entry level machine and will cover all the basic household needs, such as food storage improvement, through drawing the air directly out of the bag using the built-in pump. These are often known as ‘out of chamber’ vacuum sealers. Recent improvements in these machines means that they can increasingly handle more workload and faster speed. These machines are portable, compact and low on energy use.
How many packages am I likely to do in a day?
If you are packaging upward of 20 packages a day, up to about sixty, you would need to consider a larger out of chamber vacuum sealer. These vacuum sealers still sit on your benchtop and take up limited space, but they have a stronger motor, faster sealing times and generally more tough! If you are packaging upward of 100 packages a day you will need a commercial vacuum chamber.
What is the size of the product I am going to vacuum pack?
Most vacuum sealers and vacuum chambers offer flexibility in package size. So you can use the same vacuum sealer or vacuum chamber to pack a range of different sized products, and simply adjust the bag size to make it work. It is important to check the maximum dimensions of product that the vacuum sealer or vacuum chamber can take.
Do I need to use nitrogen flushing when vacuum sealing my products?
Packaging or sealing products in an airless environment has long been an effective way to protect items or enhance shelf life. The key to this longer shelf-life is removing the oxygen from the packaging as exposure to oxygen causes foods to deteriorate. In order to remove the oxygen you can remove all the air from the bag during the vacuum sealing process, or alternatively fill the bag with nitrogen when sealing.
If you are sealing sturdy products such as meats and cheeses, vacuum sealing works well as the product is robust enough the withstand all the oxygen being removed from the packaging. For more delicate foods where vacuum sealing the bag may cause the product to be crushed, nitrogen can be flushed in to replace the oxygen, meaning the product in the bag is protected (as the bag is more full) plus the likelihood of food spoiling is significantly reduced as the oxygen has been removed.
How do I want my vacuum sealed product to look?
If you are selling your vacuum sealed product in a retail sales situation you should consider if you need the bag to stand up, or hang on a display stand. If so a stand up pouch is the best option. Vacuum bags are the other option to use with a vacuum chamber and they are particularly easy to transport, but not so good for display purposes.
Vacuum Sealers
VH529 Vacuum Sealer
Our VH 529 vacuum sealer is finished in heavy duty stainless steel is ideal for home or low level commercial use. It is easy to store, requires no warm up, and delivers a professional and tamper-proof finish. The VH 529 Vaccum Sealer uses 300mm Venus Vacuum Bag Rolls which are easily stored within the vacuum sealer itself, or Venus Channelled Vaccum Bags. Comes with a starter pack of 5 x 300mm x 220mm & 5 x 400mm x 275mm Venus Channelled Vacuum Bags.
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SNAPSHOT ON: Vacuum Packaging
Venus Packaging, a leader in the flexible packaging industry in Australia is celebrating 60 years in business in 2019. Here, they provide a comprehensive analysis of vacuum packaging and how it might be good for your business.
Why vacuum pack?
Packaging or sealing products in an airless environment has long been an effective way to protect items or enhance shelf life.
Exposure to air aids the growth of bacteria in most foods. Sealing the food in a bag from which the air has been removed greatly inhibits bacterial growth. Food stays fresh longer and retains it’s flavour, nutritional value and sales appeal.
Which type of machine is right for you?
Broadly speaking, there are two types of machines: the domestic vacuum sealer and the commercial vacuum chamber.
The domestic machines (VH329 model pictured) are a cost-effective entry level machine and will cover all the basic household needs, such as food storage improvement, through drawing the air directly out of the bag using the built-in pump. These are often known as ‘out of chamber’ vacuum sealers and recent improvements in these machines means that they can increasingly handle more work load and faster speed. These machines are portable, compact and low on energy use.
The ‘commercial’ vacuum chambers (VH153V Vertical vacuum chamber pictured) are capable of higher output and many package multiple packages in one vacuum sealing cycle. With these machines, the product is bagged, placed inside the chamber and air extracted from the chamber and bag. These machines work fast and if used with the right vacuum bag provide a strong, tamper proof seal offering a professional finish for retail display. There are a range of these machines suitable for different packing needs, including double vacuum chambers, single chambers and stand up vacuum chambers for sealing liquids.
Which foods can be vacuum packed?
Any food can be vacuum packed, from raw meat to soups, but the unique characteristics if each food must be considered. For example a strong vacuum might crush delicate foods such as berries.
How long do vacuum packed foods last?
Some foods will last up to 5 times longer than without vacuum packing. But it depends on the type of food and its quality before packing. It is important to remember that foods that normally need to be kept cool to prevent spoilage still need to be refrigerated or frozen as usual.
What about vacuum bags?
The second part of the equation is the vacuum bags themselves. Not all vacuum bags are created equal! Type is important but so is quality. These bags are not simply a poly bag. Acceptable quality bags should be sealed on 3 sides and need to have multiple layers, (including nylon), and satisfactory micron thickness to provide the maximum barrier to oxygen which will preserve the packed item.
One must also be sure to use the correct bag variant. Due to the method of pumping the air out of bags, the domestic (‘out of chamber’) machines must always use bags that have specially designed channels in the plastic film. These channels give an unrestricted pathway for the air to flow out, and allows wrinkle free packaging. The vacuum bags for the commercial vacuum chamber machines are flat and smooth and present the packages item very professionally, for example, meat, fish, and small good. Whilst the commercial vacuum chambers are somewhat more expensive than the domestic, there are considerable savings to be found using the flat bags which should be considered when making your initial purchase.
