My Thoughts on Technology and Jamaica: How CB Group Safe Food Movement Tray-less Meats marks Vacuum Sealing Trend in Jamaica

Saturday, September 14, 2013

How CB Group Safe Food Movement Tray-less Meats marks Vacuum Sealing Trend in Jamaica



“We are extremely proud to be the first to introduce this type of packaging to the Jamaican poultry market. We know that it's a different presentation than many shoppers are accustomed to, but with the benefits of improved freshness, safety and just being more environmentally responsible, we knew it was the right thing to do for our customers and for our environment”

Chief Operating Officer for the CB Group, Matthew Lyn, commenting in the Friday Gleaner on CB Group's “Safe Food Movement” Vacuum Sealed Tray-less Meats

Jamaica is yet to fully catch on to the latest craze in the US over Vacuum Sealing food to make it last longer. But to CB Chicken, it’s the “in” thing. CB Chicken recently rolled out a new bright orange packaging that not only removes the Styrofoam Tray, but is Vacuum sealed as part of CB Group's “Safe Food Movement” as stated in the article “CB Chicken introduces 'tray-less'”, published Friday, September 13, 2013, The Jamaica Observer and “CB replaces styrofoam with vacuum packs”, published Sunday September 15, 2013, The Jamaica Gleaner.
This is a lot like Gracekennedy’s planned rollout of a new packaging for Grace Tomato Ketchup in a large plastic Sachet form instead of the traditional Plastic Bottles. Like the CB Chicken in its vacuum Sealed packaging, the Sachet eliminates the use of Glass bottles and puts the Grace Tomato Ketchup in a portable, safe and friendly form factor that ok for kids to handle!
In the US of A, there are several Vacuum Sealing Products to keep food fresh after it’s been purchased at the Grocery Store. So much so that an IndieGogo project name Vacuvita aims to make the process simple and easy as closing a lid as described in my blog article entitled “IndieGogo funded Vacuvita makes Vacuum Sealing Food Easy - How We Can’t Stop, Miley Cyrus Style Eating Organic Food as it last longer”.

Possibly a few Middle Class and Upper Class may have products that Vacuum Seal their produce, as with the Jamaican Economy making food more expensive, all means possible to make food last longer may be employed. Vacuum Sealing is the best method, as it’s quick and Easy. CB Chicken has merely brought it to the masses, who may not know about Vacuum Sealing or are oblivious to its benefits!

CB Chicken has chosen to roll out its product on a phased basis over a few weeks from Friday September 13th 2013, based on demand, to quote CB Chicken Brand Manager, Alicia Bogues: “Changing our packaging colour is simply a continuation of our brand evolution that started almost two years ago, which is visible on our delivery trucks, billboards and in the print media today. And the fact that we've chosen to roll out the availability of the product slowly, is to ensure that we manage this process wisely and make the transition as smooth as possible for our staff, customers and the consumers.”


In addition to making meat last longer with less refrigeration, it also can eliminate refrigeration in the Freezer, since by Vacuum sealing the Chicken, it becomes like canned food. Thus it can stay for months, without refrigeration only needing basic cooling, assuming that the seal isn’t broken and the packaging is not punctured and the Chicken is kept cool.

In fact you can get rid of your Refrigerator and just keep the Chicken in its Orange sealed Vacuum packaging in the Refrigerator cooler whose design I’d suggested in my blog article entitled “DIY Alternative Energy - How to make a portable Refrigerator and Simple tips to reduce your house's Electricity Bill are the 2 Guns you need”.

Jamaicans noticing this may soon start importing Vacuum Sealers for their Families here locally in Jamaica as they look for creative ways to help food last longer while reducing their electricity bill due to their use of Refrigeration, the main electricity user in the house as pointed out in my blog article entitled “Dr. Taylor's states Global Warming increasing Jamaica's Energy Bill - Vybz Kartel's Summertime Soylent Green”.

This as hinted by CB Chicken Brand Manager, Alicia Bogues, quote: “Apart from the safety aspect...The package is leak proof so it doesn't mess up the other goods in your shopping cart, it comes with an easy peel edge to make it simpler to open and the entire package is smaller, so it takes up less space in your fridge”

Less Styrofoam also benefits the environment as stated by Chief Operating Officer for the CB Group, Matthew Lyn, quote: “We are eliminating the need for hundreds of thousands of foam trays entering our landfills each year and that just makes sense”.


CB Group's “Safe Food Movement” with the new Vacuum seal packaging may seem to be just another gimmick in packaging meat. But it’s more than that. It’s possibly the start of a trend towards Vacuum Sealing Food in Jamaica to not only make food last longer and taste better outside of refrigeration but to also help to reduce the cost of Electricity associated with Refrigeration.

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