The standard pouch is 65 micron. This one is 130. Same film structure, twice the thickness, and it exists for a short list of jobs where the standard bag fails. If you're on that list it's the best value pouch we sell, because it's the one that doesn't end up in the bin. If you're not, it's 18.8p a bag you don't need to spend.
What it's for
-
Bone-in cuts. Fore rib, racks, shanks, bone-in loins, whole birds with the legs untrussed. A bone tip that punctures 65 micron will press into 130 and usually stop.
-
Shellfish. Crab, lobster and langoustine have edges that shred a thin pouch. So does a whole fish with the fins on.
-
Frozen product with corners. Blocks of frozen mince, frozen bone-in, anything stacked hard in a freezer where packs rub against each other for months.
-
Anything handled roughly in transit. Wholesale product that goes through two depots before it reaches a kitchen.
What it's not for
Boneless joints, steaks, mince, cheese, fish fillets, sous vide, retail packs. None of those puncture 65 micron film, and the heavier pouch adds cost, seals slower and looks bulkier without doing anything for the product. Shelf life is identical, because the oxygen barrier comes from the polyamide layer and that's the same in both. The gauge guide lays this out.
The size
We stock one: 210×650mm, boxes of 500, £94.19. It's long and narrow because the things that need it are long and narrow: a rack of lamb is 250mm, a fore rib 300mm, a whole salmon 600mm. The 210mm width fits any chamber with a 250mm seal bar or longer, and if your chamber isn't 650mm deep, seal it in two passes.
For long product that isn't sharp, the same format exists in 65 micron: 240×650mm at 7.0p and 350×750mm at 11.8p. Whole sides of smoked salmon go in those, not the 130.
Try the cheap fixes first
Before you move a product onto 130 micron, three things often solve a puncture problem for nothing:
- Cover the sharp point with a bone guard or a folded square of paper.
- Drop the vacuum from 99% to 95% so the film isn't forced round the bone.
- Go up a pouch size so the film drapes instead of stretching.
The bone-in guide walks through them. Most butchers end up with 130 micron on two or three products and the standard pouch on everything else.
Machine settings
Thicker film wants a touch more seal time. On a Henkelman that's one notch up on the seal setting; on a Multivac C-series, select the heavy bag programme if you've set one up. Check the first seal by pressing the pack and looking for a continuous line. Chamber machines only, as with everything we make.
Cost, honestly
18.8p against 5.4p for a 300×400mm standard pouch. On a £45 rib of beef the difference is 0.3% of the price, and one saved pack pays for seven bags. On a £6 pack of mince it's 2% and there's nothing to save. That's the whole decision.
One product puncturing? Name it when you request a free sample pack and we'll add 130 micron pouches to test against it.
