"SAVOUR PACKS": WHAT FOR ?

Dry products can be stored at least 12 months before consumption. Packaging has a great importance for maintening a maximal palatability as long as possible.

How can palatability deteriorate along the time ?

Aromas are volatile substances likely to evaporate in the air that circulates around the product. Aromas are also fragile molecules that can be degraded by the oxygen of the air.

The atmospheric air contains 20 % of oxygen and 80 % of nitrogen. This is oxygen itself that enhances the degradation of the aromas and the fats in the coating, through oxidation reactions. This degradation increases with time, and it is amplified by light and high temperatures. On the contrary, nitrogen is a neutral gas that does not interact with fats and aromas.

How can we prevent that palatability drops during storage ?

To guarantee the freshness of a product, it is necessary:

• to check the airproofness of the packaging: to preserve aromas,
• to get rid of oxygen: to prevent from oxydation.

"Controlling the atmosphere" means that air (including oxygen) is flushed away and nitrogen fills in its place.

"Savour Packs" in RCCI Size range

The launching of RCCI Size range gave us the opportunity to extend the concept of COntrolled ATtmosphere ("ATCO") to packagings of 2, 3 and 4 kg. These packagings are now called "Savour Packs".

The size of the packagings are adapted to the respective consumption of the dogs:

• 2 kg of Mini Adult 1/2 will last 10 days up to 7 weeks for a small dog,
• 3 kg of Medium Adult 1/2 will last 7 days up to 17 days for a medium dog,
• 4 kg of Maxi Adult 1/2 will last 5 days up to 13 days for a large dog.

Then, Savour Packs allow us to answer to the specific problem of finicky small breed dogs, because they receive a lot of treats from their owners.

Is there a difference between "Savour Packs" and "vacuum packed" ?

Vaccum packagings also aim at avoiding the contact between the product and the oxygen of the air, but the technique is different: air is pumped out of the bag, and then, the bag is sealed hermetically.

The result is the same concerning the quality of the product, but with vaccum packagings, micropunctures are very frequent, inducing leaks in 25 % of cases at least. Then, the bag takes its normal size again, and the problem becomes obvious for the customer. (Royal Canin has already experienced vacuum packagings for the launching of Canistar/Felistar range, but we gave it up pretty soon. Eukanuba also tried this technique for its most recent cat range, unsuccessfully.)

Controlled atmosphere is a safest technique. Besides, it is widely spread out in human food industry: for crackers, chips, meat containers, etc…

Conclusion

Savour Packs give us a real advantage in Feline Nutrition et RCCI Size ranges, as none of our competitors use this technique. Palatability tests show very positive results of our products towards the competitors ones, even when the products have been submitted to an accelarated ageing process.

Other bags (7,5 and 15 kg) have been also improved compared to RCCI bags. The bottom of the bags are now welded, which is a guarantee of prevention towards a possible fat exsudation.

Donated by the Borg Cardona and Co. Ltd. visit Borg Cardona website