Commercial and supply management
Product range
We offer the widest range of products so that the customer can choose the casing that best suits his needs. More than 14,000 product lines were sold in 2019.
Viscofan, as the world leader in the production and distribution of casings, is the only company that manufactures products in the four main artificial casing technologies: cellulose, collagen, fibrous and plastic casings. To this end, we take the utmost care with the raw materials we work with, ensuring that the highest standards of health and food safety are maintained at all stages of production, and we devote special efforts to seeking a more sustainable solution in the transformation of our products.
Cellulose casings
Our small size cellulose casing is characterised by its high elasticity, consistency of size and homogeneity. The ease with which this casing is peeled guarantees a fast and uninterrupted production process. It also stands out for the excellent smoking properties and for the perfect absorption of colour and flavour. It can be printed in a large variety of colours and stripes, and its transparency and brightness give the product a very appetising appearance.
They are used primarily in the production of industrially cooked sausages. It is especially focused for traditional applications such as frankfurters, Vienna sausages, hot-dogs and raw-cured products.
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Main raw material: cellulose
Cellulose is a linear polymer composed of glucose units found in the wall of cells in plants, wood and natural fibres, usually combined with other substances such as lignin, hemicelluloses, and other components. To produce casings, the cellulose chain must be broken to re-polymerise it with the appropriate structure for its extrusion in the form of a casing. This process requires cellulose with a high level of purity, also called "Premium cellulose" or "special cellulose" by our approved suppliers.
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Collagen casings
It is an alternative to animal gut. These are casings that improve the appearance of the product, thanks to their smoked properties and perfect development of colour and flavour, fulfilling the consumer's wish to obtain a product with a classic and appetizing appearance. It is ideal for both cooked and raw-cured sausages. Collagen has great resistance because it stands fast filling, over cooking and hanging. This is why their performance in the production process is quite efficient. Collagen products stand out for being very uniform (standard size), and small sizes have good properties for frying and for a perfect "bite".
The classic collagen sheet (Coffi), and the pleated collagen with a net (Coffinet) offer new possibilities that go beyond traditional shapes, making it possible to produce cooked hams, cylindrical sausages and marinated and smoked items.
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Main material: collagen
Collagen is a very common long fibrous protein with remarkable chemical and mechanical properties. It has been used for many years as a basic raw material for several applications, as well as for sausage casings. Among others, it is used in the fields of biomedicine and cosmetics, as well as applications in the food industry. It is also the basic material for the large gelatine industry. The corium, or inner part of the skin of cattle is mainly used to produce collagen casings, which is very rich in collagen. For applications in very specific markets, collagen is also obtained from pig skin.
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Fibrous casings
Fibrous casings give the product a high endurance and homogeneity of calibre but less elasticity than cellulose casings. Fibrous casing is mainly used for large sausages, products such as mortadella or salamis, which require excellent size consistency, high mechanical resistance during the production process and ease of peeling.
They homogeneously transfer colour and aroma. The variety of colours available add value to the final product by improving it visually and giving it a very appetising appearance.
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Main raw material: abaca paper
It is obtained from a herbaceous plant called musa textiles. Paper made from its fibres has a high mechanical and moisture resistance, and is used at Viscofan to produce fibrous casings. Abaca fibre is also used by other industries to produce high quality paper and non-woven textiles for various uses such as tea bags, paper money and filters.
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Vegetable casings
A new generation casing that has been launched in 2019, based on plants and specially developed for vegetarian and vegan recipes. In addition to being 100% vegetable, it is a free of glutens, free of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) and free of allergens. For all these reasons, its composition makes it ideal for covering certain growing market requirements, particular legal and labelling conditions, or demands of a religious nature.
The Veggie casing is suitable for fresh and cooked products, with good results in frying and a particularly tender bite. As it is a completely vegetable casing, it is edible and therefore does not need to be peeled.
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Main raw material: vegetables
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Cellulose casings
Collagen casings
Fibrous casings
Vegetable casings
Plastic casings and packing solutions
There is a wide variety of types (in tube format and also in film format) that allow us to offer the most suitable product for each type of application. The tubular plastic casings are extremely resistant to the filling process and their barrier properties maintain the constancy of the aroma, colour and weight of the product during its distribution and sale. These barrier properties maximise product life and cooking performance.
The plastic casings offered by Viscofan also incorporate exceptional characteristics such as a great ease of product moulding, peeling and slicing, and they maintain the organoleptic properties of the final product during its useful life.
Packaging solutions
Within the plastics division is a family of products focused on food packaging. Viscofan specialises in two of these types of products. On the one hand, the "Nanopack" plastic films, which are sheets for separation of sliced foods. These films - also called interleavers - enhance the visual characteristics of the product, its colour and brightness, and its presentation, since they stop slices of the product sticking together. On the other hand, retractable bags and "Vector" packaging films extend the catalogue of retractable bags that the company has had for many years, adding a new technology that provides options and properties to cover with a wider range of applications in the meat and dairy sector.
Our catalogue also contains products that can transfer spices, aromas, flavours or colours, depending on the added value requirements requested by our customers.
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Main raw material: plastic polymers
Sustainability commitment
We are working on the Eco-Casing 4R project to find the most sustainable solution for our plastics.
We have reduced the thickness of our casings. We have also reached a collaboration agreement with raw material suppliers for the development of recycled plastic.
The development of an original bio casing has been achieved and is ready for marketing in 2020.
Functional solutions
Viscofan's functional casings and packaging solutions provide high added value, incorporating new colour, flavour and spice properties into foods.
Viscofan's functional solutions are also applicable to a wide range of foods such as fresh produce (meat, vegetables, fish), processed meats, cheeses and ready-to-eat products.
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Main raw material: plastic polymers
Sustainability commitment
Plastic casings
Packing solutions
Functional solutions
In addition, Viscofan also markets machinery solutions with the aim of making it easier for our customers to use our casings. These machines have been designed for casings for which the meat machinery market does not offer adequate solutions due to their special application.