People just love beef jerky, turkey jerky, bison jerky, really any kind of jerky. Just as there are flavors and styles of beef jerky from the hot and spicy slabs to the sweet and smoky shredded pieces, there are questions jerky packaging.
Often we're asked for beef jerky pouches, or beef jerky bags, or even beef jerky hanging pouches. This post is to set the record straight: there is no such thing in the packaging world as beef jerky pouches. Nothing was created solely for beef jerky that it has only one use. On the other hand, there are multiple ways to package beef jerky, protect it, and keep it fresher for longer.
At StandUpPouches.net, we use flat barrier bags for jerky packaging. Get started with your order here.
Many clients assume that stand up bags, also known as stand bags or stand up
pouches, are used to package beef jerky, and that’s partly true. Most of the time jerky is sold in smaller quantities, like 1 to 3 ounces which isn’t really conducive to a stand bag yet, and the important word here is yet.
For smaller quantities, most jerky is sold as a hanging pouch:a 3-sided pouch without a bottom gusset but with a hang hole, as jerky can be expensive and rarely does someone want a pound of beef jerky off the shelf. That’s not to say people don’t buy jerky like that, but historically beef jerky is made and sold in smaller quantities and hence are packaged in smaller flat beef jerky pouches, or smaller flat pouches with a hang hole. Obviously, as a beef jerky manufacturer gains shelf space, they’ll move beyond just the smaller 3-sided flat pouch and into stand up bags or even larger 3-sided flat pouches. Both of these packaging styles can be custom printed with bold, dynamic, and photographic quality with minimum run quantities of just 5000 pieces, which truly puts the small and large companies on a level playing field.
Jerky Packaging: The Best Way
Because there are thousands of smaller manufacturers of beef jerky, from the Mom and Pop to the local creator working with a dehydrator from home, people need to be educated as to the best way to package beef jerky.
Beef jerky requires barrier protection from odor, moisture, and sometimes light. Stock bag manufacturers such as Associated Bag or Uline don’t have the knowledge to recommend barrier film structures and often will sell single layer stock ziplock bags just because they don’t know any better. Obviously beef jerky needs to be packaged with food grade film, that’s step 1.
Step 2 - it needs to have multiple layers of film to protect from puncture and rough handling and, most importantly (step 3), to prevent spoilage and maximize shelf life so the beef jerky will stay fresher for longer. This is done in conjunction with the barrier film and a number of ways to minimize and eliminate oxygen from negatively affecting the jerky. Let me explain.
- With certain types of barrier film you can pull a vacuum on the beef jerky pouch, which will suck out all air and you’ll have a distorted looking bag where the film is pulled up and over and around the jerky. While the entire package looks odd, it is an effective way to protect the jerky. This style of packaging is used extensively when the consumer appeal is not as important, where the jerky will be sold at a commissary or industrial (non-retail) location such as a military outlet or even prison store. Keep in mind, you’ll need the right type of barrier film that will allow for a vacuum to be pulled, this usually requires at least one of the layers to be made from nylon. Trust your packaging professional for guidance and direction.
- Some companies want to quickly blast their jerky pouch with nitrogen when filling and sealing it. Nitrogen is odorless and tasteless and will push out any oxygen. There are industrial “nitrogen flushing and sealing” machines but this requires testing and shelf life tests along with canisters of nitrogen, so you have additional equipment and material costs involved. Once again, you’ll need the right barrier film structure to work with the nitrogen flush and seal system and you’ll need to test how your product reacts to the gas. Your packaging professional will be a great resource.
- Finally, many companies use an oxygen scavenger (known as a desiccant). These are the little pouches or pillows that say Do Not Eat that can be inserted into a beef jerky pouch. These are effective, simple, but require some testing based upon the amount of jerky and the size of the pouch. Obviously there is a cost involved for the oxygen scavenger packs as well. If you want to know what the “big boys” in the industry do, like Jack Links, it is this style. Why? Because they want their custom printed beef jerky pouch to look as pretty as possible, no vacuum that distorts the film,
In closing, how do you package beef jerky? It depends based upon your particular application, how your product responds to the options listed above, the layers of barrier film used, and let’s not forget the ingredients and coatings on your particular jerky. As always the best thing to do is rely on your packaging professional, try samples, test them and make a decision from there. FYI, there are packaging labs such as Lansmont that can do accelerated tests on all of these options which will help you make a faster decision. As you can imagine, there is a fee labs such as Lansmont.