Flexible Packaging Machine Spotlight: Sanitary Vertical Form Fill Seal ES400

With food product recalls hitting the news every day and the FDA creating new regulations that ensure proper prevention and accountability for foodborne illness outbreaks, the necessity for sanitary packaging equipment is becoming ever more important. Not only are strict sanitation requirements necessary for processing of food products like raw meat, dairy, and fresh produce; but nuts, seeds, and even flour have been reported to be causes of foodborne disease, necessitating higher standards in these industries as well. While packaging machinery is but one part of the supply chain, it is nevertheless very important for the equipment to be designed with a company's cleaning and sanitation protocols top of mind. Read on for how the VFFS ES400, Viking Masek's ultra-sanitary packaging machine, can assist with compliance.

What Sets Viking Masek's Sanitary Packaging Machine Apart

While competitors also offer packaging machinery with sanitary design, what sets Viking Masek's servo-driven VFFS ES400 apart is its tough-as-nails, rugged built that can withstand the harshest washdown procedures. Also available with a squeegee option for liquids, this robust machine can package almost any food product.

Let's look at some of the packaging equipment's features that make it a top choice for sanitary packaging applications:

Angled Frame

The ES400 boasts a fully stainless steel 45 degree angled frame. This ensures moisture and contaminants will not have an opportunity to gather on horizontal surfaces of the packaging machine, which can quickly breed unsanitary conditions. Also featured are a stainless steel unwind and stainless steel guard doors.

Slanted, IP66 Enclosures

Rated at IP66, the electrical and pneumatic cabinets are separate and slanted, as seen in the photo above. This ensures moisture runoff will not have the opportunity to pool and will instead drop down to be collected and properly processed. The IP66 rating means the enclosures are dust-tight and protected against powerful water jets that may be used in cleaning.

Open Design

The sanitary VFFS ES400 packaging machine has an open design, made to be easily accessible for quick cleaning. The old saying goes "If you can't see it, you can't clean it." The internal components of this vertical form fill and seal machine are within view and reach for efficient and thorough cleaning.

Top Drip Pan

At the top of the sanitary packaging machine sits a drip pan that will catch anything that may drip from above, protecting both the machine and product alike from outside contamination. Items caught in the drip pan travel down the angled surface to be deposited safely away from the packaging area.

Service & Engineering

Finally, the incredible service offered by Viking Masek's Service Department and Engineers is second-to-none. Not only do Viking Masek's team of sales consultants and project managers ensure that our clients' needs are met from first contact to installation, our Service Department also works tirelessly to ensure minimal downtime if training or maintenance are required. In fact, 99% of our service calls can be answered and fixed remotely over the phone, via video chat, or by our Engineers accessing the software remotely from our location. We understand that downtime for our clients costs them money. Therefore, we provide a quality, tested product upon installation and provide service to maintain that equipment as long as it's in use.

Industries Served by the ES400

Meat, Poultry, and Seafood

One of the most popular industries served by the sanitary ES400 packaging machine is meat, poultry, and fish packaging. These products can be fully cooked, raw, or IQF (individually quick frozen). The vertical form fill seal ES400 works well for this industry in the following ways:

• The smooth stainless steel surfaces of the ES400 are easy to clean, durable and corrosion-resistant, and can withstand repeated and regular washings, which follows current requirements of food-contact surfaces according to the USDA's Sanitation Performance Standards. Also compliant is the angled drip pan that covers the open top of the sanitary packaging machine. Per USDA regulations, openings on the machine are required to be covered with overlap as well as being sloped to drain.
• The IP66 rated cabinets enclosing the pneumatic and electrical components can withstand necessary cleaning and sanitation with liquid products, from swabbing and brushing to high-pressure spraying methods. After the packaging machine has been cleaned, the sloped angled surfaces allow proper drainage of cleaning solutions and air-drying of the machinery.

Fresh Produce 

Another industry served by the sanitary ES400 packaging machine is the fresh fruits and vegetable market. As the trend toward consumption of more organic and whole foods continues, consumers are demanding fresh foods that are also conveniently packaged. The vertical form fill and seal ES400 serves this industry in the following ways:

• The ES400's servo-driven, constantly heated sealing system ensures produce remains fresh from farm to table. End seal cooling air creates tight seals that dramatically extend the shelf life of fresh products. This ensures product stability, allowing for the distribution of fresh products in geographic regions that may be further from the source site. 
• The FDA's Food Safety and Modernization Act created new requirements for fresh produce to decrease the risk of foodborne illness. The FSMA's new Produce Safety Rule requires equipment to be designed to be easy to clean and maintain. With the sanitary ES400's open design and smooth contact surfaces, cleaning and sanitation of the packaging machine are not difficult tasks, even for new machine operators.