ABSTRACT

The packaging of foods is typically designed to maintain the quality of the product throughout its commercial distribution. However, dry and semidry fermented sausages are usually processed once the sausage mix is stuffed into natural or artificial casings. Thus, casings are subjected to heat and drying and have specific requirements such as permeability to moisture and smoke components. At the end of the process, the sausages are sliced and packaged for retailing. This chapter describes the different packaging materials, systems, and applications, as well as current systems and methodologies for an effective quality control of the products.