Pizza dough gets custom gas-valve packaging

Nestlé's subsidiary Leisi, Wangen, Switzerland, is using model R530 thermoforming machinery, custom-adapted by manufacturer Multivac (multivac.com), to package fresh, refrigerated Buitoni-brand rolled pizza dough.

Multivac, specialists in custom applications, developed the system during a year of testing at the Wangen facility. The machines produce the large-format, 385-g volume valve packs, evacuate oxygen, and flush the filled packs with a special protective mixture of nitrogen and carbon dioxide before sealing.

The bottom web of the packaging is APET/PE, and the top web is PA/PE (film supplier names were not disclosed). The finished packaging features a one-way valve sealed firmly to the upper web that releases excess CO₂ given off by the yeast dough as it ferments without allowing ingress of oxygen. This prevents package "ballooning," while maintaining an airtight seal. Refrigerated shelf life of the dough in this packaging is approximately six weeks.

The new packaging is being well received by consumers in France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg.