Luga-Fresh Astoria

PURPOSE

Luga-Fresh Astoria is five-layer artificial casing intended for manufacturing of all kinds of boiled, liver, blood and fish sausages, pate, brawn, forcemeat as well as soft cheese, butter, fat and other products.

COMPOSITION

Luga-Fresh Astoria casing is produced according to up-to-date technology by co-extrusion method, from high quality polyamide raw materials manufactured by leading polymer producers.

In five-layer structure of casing each layer bears certain function:

External layer consisting from polyolefin, adds casing increased elasticity and creates a distinctive structure of a surface (casing and a grid have different colors) that gives special expressiveness and unique organoleptic properties.
Medium polyamide layer provides casing with impermeability for oxygen and other gases, and also interferes with development of microflora inside of sausage stick.
Adhesive layers, consisting of ethylene copolymers provide functioning of multilayer material as a single whole.
Internal polyamide layer contacting to product, is biologically neutral, it possesses high resistance to food acids and fats.

All raw materials are certified to contact with foodstuffs.

ASSORTIMENT

Range of nominal diameter 30-120 mm.

Colors of Luga-Fresh Astoria sausage casing

№	Color	Code
1	Brown	1.0
2	Bordo	1.2
3	Red	2.0
4	Gold	5.0
5	Gold	5.4
6	Transparent	8.0
7	Bronze	7.0
8	White	11.0

Luga-Fresh Astoria casing in rolls

Caliber, mm	Quantity of casing in one roll, m	Quantity of rolls in one shipping box, pieces	Quantity of casing in one shipping box, m	Gross weight max, kg	Dimensions of shipping box, mm
35-55	500	3	1500	16	280х280х340
60-90		2	1000	16	280х280х340
95-120		1	500	12	280х280х235

Shirred Luga-Fresh Astoria casing

Caliber, mm	Quantity of casing in one shirred briquette, m	*Quantity of briquettes in one shipping box, pieces**	Quantity of casing in one shipping box, m	Gross weight max, kg
30	20	65	1300	7(9)
32	25	56	1400	7(9)
35	30	54	1620	7(9)
38	25	46	1150	7(9)
40	30	42	1260	6(8)
45	30	33	990	6(8)
50	25	30	750	6(7)
55	30	23	690	5(6)
60	30	18	540	5(6)
65	30	16	480	5(6)
70	25	16	400	5(6)
75	30	12	360	4(5)
80	30	10	300	4(5)
85	30	10	300	4(5)
90	30	9	270	4(5)
95	30	9	270	4(5)
100	40	5	200	5
105		4	160	4
110		4	160	4

* – dimensions of packing box for caliber 30-110, mm: 314х314х410

Notice: Luga-Fresh casing can be shirred up to Ф110 mm inclusive only.

It is possible to make one- or two- side printing. Paints used for printing are permitted to contact with food and they are resistant to mechanic action, fat and boiling, and have certificates allowing contact to foodstuff. Quantity of colors for printing is from 1 up to 6. Full-color printing is possible.

PROPERTIES AND ADVANTAGES

High barrier properties.

Permeability of Luga-Fresh Astoria casing for oxygen and water vapor is in dozen times less than in collagen and cellulose casing. It brings following advantages:

Minimal losses during thermal treatment and storage of frankfurters and wieners.
Prolonged shelf life of sausage. Shelf life of final products packed in polyamide casing Luga-Fresh Astoria is 60 days.
Attractive appearance of final product during whole period of shelf life.

2. Excellent physic-mechanical properties.

Allow to use Luga-Fresh Astoria casing on all types of automatic clipping machines and manually.
Provide efficient production of stuffing equipment.
Permit to overstuff the casing for increasing profitability of production.

3. Caliber stability.

Caliber stability of Luga-Fresh Astoria casing is very important during thermal treatment, this property guarantees absence of undercooked or sodden sausage sticks, and provides constant diameter along the whole length of sausage stick, allows to plan casing consumption. Stability of caliber gets special actuality when manufacture of portioned sausages with fixed weight.

4. High level of thermo-shrinkage.

Thermo-shrinkage properties ofLuga-Fresh Astoria casingis the best preventer against forming of fat and gel pockets as well as wrinkles, and they give organoleptic properties to final products.

5. High thermo-resistance.

Casing is resistant not only to high temperature, but also to its lasting effect. That is why the range of thermal treatment of sausages in Luga-Fresh Astoria casing is wider, in comparison with natural, cellulose and collagen casing.

6. Biological inactivity.

Polymeric materials used for production of Luga-Fresh Astoria casing are inert to bacteria and moulds. This property improves hygienic characteristics of casing and sausage production as well.

PREPARATION OF CASING

Correct casing soaking provides regular stuffing with recommended stuffing diameter.

In order to provide good elasticity while stuffing casing should possess sufficient humidity thereto its preliminary soaking is made. When soaking Luga-Fresh Astoria casing should be completely submerged in cold water for 30-60 minutes, at temperature not higher than+20°С.

For achievement of uniform soaking it is necessary to open the ends of the casing sections and to moisten ones inside. Shirred briquettes in netting should be soaked in cold water not less then for 1 hours. Correct soaking gives to casing additional elasticity, coupled with high durability, that makes easy manual stuffing process as well as stuffing at automatic equipment.

It is forbidden:

1. To soak casing in warm or hot water.

2. To soak repeatedly once soaked, but unused casing.

MEAT STUFF COMPOSITION

As Luga-Fresh Astoria casing is impermeable to gas, vapor and moisture, so when preparing the stuff it is recommended to lower quantity of water by 5-10% in comparison to norm for natural and cellulose casing. More precise needed quantity of water can be determined by accounting of kind and characteristic of meat (ratio of flesh to fat), rate of overstuffing, type and amount of stabilizing, binding, emulsifying and preserving ingredients, adjusting of stuffing equipment, etc. Practice shows, that in spite of water quantity lowering, output of final product does not lessen.

STUFFING

It is recommended to overstuff Luga-Fresh Astoria casing for 6-10% bigger than nominal diameter (nominal diameter means before soaking) in order casing shows its best properties.

For example, recommended stuffing diameter for casing or caliber 60 mm is 63,6-66 mm.

Overstuffing more than recommended diameter may cause to casing rapture while boiling or cutting of final product.

Puncture either of casing itself or onto product is forbidden.

Luga-Fresh Astoria casing can be stuffed both on automatic equipment and manually, under the stipulation that recommendations for using observed. While casing clipping it is necessary to keep instructions for used equipment and to hold test on order to determine fitting size of clip. Luga-Fresh Astoria casing can be sealed either by metal or plastic clip. The should be fastened very tightly in order to prevent their slipping. During binding or clipping stuff pressing is not allowable. Recommendations for using of clipping equipment with Luga-Fresh Astoria casing is submitted in appendix.

THERMAL TREATMENT

Thermal treatment of sausage products is intended for destroying of bacteria, spoiling the product. This is used to give needed color, specific texture and taste to final product. In order to make casing peeling easier, preferably, steam boiling is applied, as it levels temperature in sausage stick. During thermal treatment of sausage products it is necessary to pay attention to the following:

temperature of environment in chamber;
relative humidity of environment in chamber.

Humidity of environment in the chamber should be not higher than 35% at the beginning of thermal treatment. Humidity higher than 35% delays forming on the surface of the product «drying crust», which serves as an additional layer and interferes moisture vaporization out of the sausage stick. Thermal treatment of sausage products in Luga-Fresh Astoria casing is similar to treatment of such kind of product covered by other polyamide casings and holds by traditional way.

Application of all usual systems of thermal treatment in vertical and horizontal positions is available.

RECOMMENDED TECHNOLOGY OF THERMAL TREATMENT

method 1

CURING → DRYING → BOILING →SHOWERING →COOLING

CURING: for 2 hours at 0...+2°Сin curing chamber.
DRYING: from 30 till 100 minutes depending on diameter of the product, at +60°Сand 25% relative humidity.
BOILING: at +76…+78°Сand 100% relative humidity until getting +72°Сin the centre of the stick.
SHOWERING: for 10-20 minutes by cold water until getting +25°Сin the centre of the stick.
COOLING: according to current technological instructions.

method 2

CURING → STEAM HEATING → BOILING →SHOWERING →COOLING

CURING: for 2 hours at 0...+2°Сin curing chamber.
STEAM HEATING: at temperature +40°С, for 20 minutes, and 100% relative humidity; at temperature +50°С, for 10 minutes, and 100% relative humidity; at temperature +60°Сand 100% relative humidity until getting +47°Сin centre of the stick.
BOILING: at +76…+78°Сand 100% relative humidity until getting +72°Сin the centre of the stick.
SHOWERLING - COOLING: after thermal treatment sausages should be intensively cooled by cold water until getting +25…+30°Сin the center of the stick. Cooling by cold air or draft influence is inadvisable – it can lead to wrinkles forming. Final products should be placed in refrigerator at +4…+6°Сuntil delivery to a customer.

Attention: The maximum temperature of the thermo-treatment process used for any product packed into the casing Luga-Fresh Astoria must be not more then 80°С.

STORAGE AND TRANSPORTATION

Luga-Fresh Astoria casing should be in manufacturer’s packages on racks, avoiding shocks, in closed, dry clean warehouse without foreign smell and direct sunlight, at relative humidity below 70%, not close one meter to heating devices, at temperature below +30°С. Packages with casing should be kept in conditions without moisture, vapor and wetting. Warehouse should satisfy the requirements of sanitary and hygienic regulations for meat processing industry. When stacking the rolls of casing, it is required to use separator between faces of rolls. The rolls should be unwounded carefully in vertical position in order to prevent scratching of folded edges of casing. If casing happened to be kept at temperature below 0°Сthen it should be readapted by storing during 24 hours at temperature higher +5°С.