Micron is the thickness of the film, one thousandth of a millimetre. A 65 micron pouch is 0.065mm thick. That's it. The number tells you nothing about barrier, food safety or how long product keeps, which is where most of the confusion starts.
We stock three gauges online, and each exists for a reason.
65 micron: the everyday pouch
This is 37 of our 47 sizes and by some distance the most ordered. It's the right pouch for boneless meat, fish fillets, cheese portions, cooked and prepared food, sous vide and anything else without a sharp edge. On a chamber machine it evacuates quickly, seals cleanly and folds tight round the product so the pack looks neat in a fridge.
Cost is the other reason it's the default. A 200×300mm 65 micron pouch works out at 2.7p a bag in a box of 1,000. A 300×400mm is 5.4p. At those prices the pouch is a rounding error against the product inside it.
80 micron: gold back, clear front, for the shelf
Our 80 micron pouches are a different product with a different job. The back is gold, the front is clear and there's a euro hole punched in the top so the pack hangs on a retail hook. The extra 15 microns is partly for stiffness, because a hanging pack needs to hold its shape, and partly because the gold-backed film is a heavier construction than plain clear.
Use them for bacon, sliced cured meats, smoked fish and anything sold from a display. The 200×275mm gold pouch is the size most delis and farm shops start with. Don't use them for bulk primal cuts; you're paying for presentation you'll never see.
130 micron: for bones and anything sharp
Twice the thickness of the standard pouch, and it exists for one reason: bone-in product. Rib of beef, whole chickens, racks of lamb, crab and lobster, frozen product with hard corners. A bone tip that would go straight through 65 micron film will usually press into 130 micron and stop.
We stock it in one size, 210×650mm in boxes of 500, which is a long narrow format built for joints and whole fish. At 18.8p a bag it's seven times the price of an everyday pouch, so it earns its place only where you'd otherwise be losing packs. If you're on the fence, read how to vacuum pack bone-in cuts first. Bone guards and folding technique solve a lot before you need thicker film.
The comparison in one table
|
65 micron clear |
80 micron gold |
130 micron clear |
| Film |
PA/PE co-extruded, smooth |
Gold-backed film, clear front |
PA/PE co-extruded, smooth |
| Best for |
Boneless meat, fish, cheese, cooked food, sous vide |
Retail display, hanging packs |
Bone-in joints, shellfish, frozen blocks |
| Sizes |
37, from 140×170mm to 530×650mm |
5, 160×275mm to 200×300mm |
1, 210×650mm |
| Typical cost per bag |
1.1p to 15.5p |
5.1p to 6.4p |
18.8p |
| Machine |
Chamber only |
Chamber only |
Chamber only |
Where 90 micron went
You'll see 90 micron on spec sheets and on our own corporate site, where it's made to order for larger processors. We don't stock it in the online shop. In practice a butcher or kitchen buying by the box sits in one of two camps: boneless, where 65 is plenty, or bone-in, where 130 does the job properly. A middle gauge adds a third box to the storeroom without solving a problem the other two don't. If your process genuinely needs it, ask us and we'll quote a run.
Two things micron doesn't change
Barrier. Oxygen gets through the film at a rate set by the polyamide layer, and that layer is the same across our clear range. Shelf life is decided by the seal and your fridge temperature, which is covered in the food safety guide.
Machine compatibility. All three are smooth film for chamber machines. None of them will seal in a FoodSaver or any other edge sealer, whatever the thickness. If you're not sure which type you have, the compatibility guide has a 10-second test.
Still not sure? We'll send a free sample pack with a couple of gauges in your sizes. Run them on your own product and order the one that survives.
