MechChem Africa January 2019

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A uniquely South African snack is receiving a packaging makeover from vacuum packaging specialist, Safari-Vac, in partnership with modified atmospheric packaging (MAP) specialist, Afrox, to preserve biltong in its optimal condition. A fresh approach to biltong

Industry diary February 2019 Africa Energy Indaba: Digitalisation and the impact on Africa’s Energy Future 19 to 20 February 2019 Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa info@energyindaba.co.za The Business Show South Africa 2019 20 to 21 February 2019 Gallagher ConventionCentre, Johannesburg twane@nsbc.org.za outbound@email.nsbc.org.za www.thebizshow.co.za “To make a good biltong that lasts as it should, the rules of biltongmanufacturemust be religiously followed,” hewarns. “If they are not, then it becomes impossible toprevent the product from spoiling using a gas mixture.” q Johnson notes that traditional vacuum packaging (VP), which keeps the atmosphere from contact with the biltong, can also be used, but it is not suitable for high-moisture biltong, which will stick together and quickly lose its snack appeal. From a MAP gas perspective, Strydom says that dry game and ostrich biltong with less than 25% moisture can generally be packaged using Afrox Foodfresh 2 (pure nitrogen) but for dry beef biltong with 25% moisture content, he says they have found that Foodfresh 5, which is a nitrogen/CO 2 gas mixture, works better. For ‘moist’ beef biltong, which still has up to 50% of its moisture, one needs to go to Foodfresh 7, which contains higher percent- ages of CO 2 , he says, adding that biltong with moisture higher than 50%remains a problem and should be avoided.

I nSouthernAfrica, meat preservationhas been around for centuries, tracing back totheregionsindigenouspeople.Initially, the technique was a simple one consist- ing of curing meat with salt and hanging it to dry. Years later, the Dutch ‘Voortrekkers’ are believed to have refined and perfected the

technique, by adding vinegar and enhancing the flavour with spices collected from their oriental voyages. Ever since then, meat preservation has moved froman elemental survival technique, into amore thanR2.5-billion biltong industry for artisans and foodmanufacturers in South Africa. The dried meats’ packaging has had to make room for the growing demand and lucrative export markets. According to Chris Johnson, owner and founder of Safari-Vac, the Afrox-Safari-Vac partnership began when he was approached by Afrox to manufacture customised equip- ment for the biltong market. “Biltong producers in South Africa have long experienced difficulty in exporting prod- ucts owing to the need to have an EU- and HACCP-certified factory to participate in those markets. By coupling packaging equip- ment from Safari-Vac with MAP gases from Afrox, along with implementing a certified food-grade biltong manufacturing process, this no longer needs to be the case,” says Safari-Vac’s Chris Johnson. Hans Strydom, production quality man- ager, Afrox adds, “In South Africa, Safari-Vac has been at the forefront of modified atmo- sphere packaging for over 30 years andAfrox has worked with Chris Johnson since 1988. Together, we have made some innovative breakthroughs in the packaging of biltong.” While dry biltong such as ‘snapsticks’ have a long shelf life, moist biltong, which is much more susceptible to moulds and rancidity, has become increasingly popular. However, at over R300/kg, consumers and retailers are understandably reluctant tobuyandkeepvol- umes of unprotected susceptible product in homes or on shelves, and are opting to extend the shelf life by selling the meats in modified atmospheric packaging (MAP). “The machines we developed use a high- grade vacuum pump to first extract the air out of a vacuumchamberwith anopenpacket of biltong inside. We pull about 99.9 kPA of vacuum at sea level, which means there is only 0.02%of the oxygen left in the bag,” says Johnson, adding that this is called a vacuum flush. “At this point, the appropriate MAP gas mix is added to the chamber and, because the chamber is under vacuum, the gas expands in all directions. Thepacket is then sealed to lock in theMAPatmosphere thatwill best keep the biltong in its optimal condition.”

Safari-Vac has developed a high-grade vacuum pump to extract

air out of a vacuum chamber before adding the appropriate Afrox MAP gas mix and sealing the bag.

Middle East Rail 2019 26 to 27 February 2019 Dubai Jamie Hosie

PROPAK AFRICA 2019 12 to 15 March 2019: Expo Centre Nasrec, in Johannesburg, SA Growth in the South African packaging industry is being driven by expanding markets rising incomes, increased num- bers of youthful consumers and growing domestic economies. It’s exciting times for the packaging industry with innova- tive new technologies leading the way. Propak Africa 2019 and co-located shows will showcase the full packaging industry lifecycle: from raw to process- ing, packaging, plastics, printing and labelling, to logistics and warehousing and all the way to recycling and waste management.

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36 ¦ MechChem Africa • January 2019