DEMAND for ready-to-cook packaging solutions where the customer doesn’t even need to touch the food until serving to eat has driven a number of recent innovations at Sirane.
From oven and microwave to barbecue, steam-cooking to roasting, seafood and meat to vegetables; Sirane has developed a wide range of ‘ready meal’ packaging ideas.
A top quality ready-to-cook nylon packaging solution that can also be flow-wrapped was the latest product release, as the company responds to the needs of the industry.
Previously no material could be flow-wrapped and heat-sealed and also offer a quality cooking bag solution. Sirane’s latest nylon blend – Siralon – is that solution.
Siralon is a world’s first. A revolutionary new nylon-based bag or film, suitable for the oven or microwave, with one crucial difference – it can be heat-sealed on a flow-wrapper. Whether you are looking to roast a whole joint, steam in a small bag, hot-hold or sous-vide, Siralon has the answers – and it allows food to be sold in ready-to-cook packs.
Jeremy Haydn-Davies, Sirane sales director, said: “Siralon is massive news for the food packaging industry. Quality packaging for oven roasting that was dual-ovenable and could be heat-sealed on a flow-wrapping machine just hasn’t been possible – up until now.
“Up until now companies have been taking the best solution available and accepting the downsides that came with it – well now the downsides have been taken away.
“Siralon has everything – it can be flow-wrapped, it can be vac-packed, it is strong, it offers a great shelf-life barrier, and the results when cooked are succulent, moist meat.”
Sirane has introduced two materials to the range – Siralon 10 and Siralon 21. Siralon 10 is perfect for microwave cooking and cooking at low temperatures, while Siralon 21 is a stronger dual-ovenable film with a temperature resistance of up to 210oC – perfect for packaging, for example, a roast chicken with a glaze in an oven-ready bag.
Simon Balderson, Sirane MD, said: “Siralon 10 can be flow-wrapped, is strong, has great clarity and has a good barrier so is perfect for vacuum packing. It can be cooked at up to 180oC, and is great for microwave steaming, hot-hold, sous-vide and boil-in-the-bag.
“Siralon 21 has all the same properties, but it can be cooked at up to 210oC. This means poultry, meat or fish could be flow-wrapped in packaging that the consumer can simply take home and put in the oven – it opens up a whole host of retail possibilities.
“Ready-to-cook meals are all the rage; they mean the customer doesn’t even need to touch the food until they are ready to eat. Siralon is perfect for ready-to-cook packaging.
“Compared to alternative cooking bag materials, such as polyester, Siralon is a far superior product for using as a roasting bag. It won’t go brittle when hot, which is a common complaint with polyester. It can be cooked at a higher temperature, meaning the cooking times can be reduced, and all the flavours and juices and kept within the bag.
“Unlike polyester, nylon will aid browning of the meat – but crucially, will not stick. There really are no downsides to roasting with nylon, once you’ve tried it you won’t go back.”
Siralon is printable – so can be branded – and can be clear or coloured. It is available in a variety of different microns, on the reel, and is available as bags or films.
Sirane also produces self-seal counter bags – complete with printed cooking instructions – perfect for food counters wanting to send customers home with food to microwave or cook in the oven – again without the need for the customer to remove the packaging.
The Si-bag is a cook-in bag designed to be used safely in a conventional oven up to 200 degrees celsius, in a microwave – and even in a freezer for subsequent reheating and eating.
Stacey Loader, sales director for Sirane Southern Africa, said: “Simple cooking and straight-to oven or microwave food doesn’t have to sacrifice on flavours. The Si-bag keeps all the flavours, it allows people to cook quickly and easily with fresh ingredients.”
The Si-bag has been developed by Sirane’s engineers and scientists. It is a bag made from very high temperature resistant film, which combines practicality with simplicity. The meal is sealed in using a fold-over flap and the bag becomes odour and leak-proof.
Stacey added: “The Si-bag, which has printed cooking instructions for both the oven & microwave, is not only perfect for home users wanting to create a simple yet tasty meal, but also for retailers wanting to send customers home with a great tasting meal that can just be popped straight into the oven or microwave – simple, yet very effective.
“However, we also offer a range of cooking bags in various formats, including self-seal, heat-seal and with special venting options, which allow retailers to either pack ready-to-cook food such as seafood with a sauce and ship into store, pack in store or sell over the counter. We can easily customise and brand the bags to suit individual customer requirements.”
Another popular ready-meal solution from Sirane is our Smart-Release bag.
Sira-Cook Smart-Release is perfect for many foods, including seafood – with perfect tasting fish and sauce cooked in just a matter of minutes thanks to the dual-vent technology.
Simon Balderson, Sirane MD, said: “Sira-Cook Smart-Release is a truly great and cost-effective concept and is proving to be very popular. The seals will only open at certain temperatures, so the food is cooked to absolute perfection in a matter of minutes.
“The venting seals on Sira-Cook Smart-Release can be tuned for retailers to meet the cooking requirements of any contents, be it seafood, poultry, or even desserts.”
With Sira-Cook Smart-Release food and sauces are kept separate in the packaging – sealed into two compartments. The central dividing seal has been designed to rupture in a controlled way, allowing the mixing of the contents of the two compartments.
A second vent in the main compartment then opens, maintaining pressure in the bag.
M&S in the UK has launched three Sira-Cook Smart-Release products to date under the tag-line Quick To Cook: Lochmuir Salmon with Watercress; Cod with Parsley and Haddock Mornay. Woolworths in South Africa followed suit as part of its Easy Cook range.
Another recent development was Sirane’s Sira-Cook Supreme bags which are perfect for the oven or BBQ, offering great versatility – and the possibility of a ‘smoking bag’.
Simon Balderson, Sirane managing director, said: “Our new Sira-Cook Supreme cooking bag has so many potential uses – and offers numerous advantages to users.
“It is a foil bag capable of withstanding significant direct heat, allowing for its use on a barbecue as well as in an oven. The food will be tender, retain all the juices and flavours as well as the goodness, and could be sold over the counter in the pack.
“For the customer there would be no mess, no smell, and no need to handle the food. The bag can be heat-sealed, self-seal or folded over, and adds genuine value to retail food sales.”
The bag is available in a number of sizes and in a standard and non-stick version. It comes with a clear top panel – so users can see what’s being cooked – and can be heat-sealed.
It also comes with a great opening mechanism – when the bag is hot the top surface can be peeled away, leaving the food on a foil base. It can then be stirred, turned if required, allowed to cook for longer and browned, or served directly.
It is perfect for meat, fish, poultry and vegetables – anything that can be cooked in an oven or on a barbecue can be cooked in this bag – and it means people will no longer have to cook separately for meat-eaters and vegetarians, as the bags can sit side by side.
“We can even offer the bag with a siliconised layer, which makes it non-stick – perfect for cooking fish – and place cedar papers or woodchips beneath this layer, which turns the bag into a fantastic ‘smoking bag’ for wood-smoked flavours,” added Stacey.
For more information on any of the products mentioned here, email sales@sirane.com or call 0044 1952 230055.
