CB Chicken this week introduced what it touts as an eco-friendly packaging for specific cuts of its Grade ‘A’ chilled products at Mega Mart stores island wide.

It’s part of the CB Group’s “Safe Food Movement”. The new CB Chicken “tray-less” tray packs showcase a bold red vacuum-sealed package that keeps the chicken fresher for a longer period of time while maximising quality and safety, the company said in a press release.

According to CB, the new pack also reduces the environmental impact when the packaging is discarded. Apart from the obvious difference in colour, moving from orange to red, the most noticeable change is that specially cut pieces, like the breast filets, boneless skinless thighs, wings and drumsticks are now packaged without a styrofoam tray, the company said.

“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,” said Matthew Lyn, Chief Operating Officer for the CB Group.

He added: “We are eliminating the need for hundreds of thousands of foam trays entering our landfills each year and that just makes sense. “

Vacuum-sealed packaging offers an array of benefits. Its tight seal helps to prevent oxygen from getting inside the package or reaching the product and the lack of oxygen kills the aerobic bacteria and reduces the risk of salmonella, making the product cleaner and safer. However, there are also some simple and practical benefits to shoppers, stated CB Chicken brand manager, Alicia Bogues.

“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,” Bogues said.

CB Chicken has adopted a phased approach for the release of its new packaging and will strategically roll out to the greater public over the next few weeks as they get their production line in sync with the market demand.

“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,” stated Bogues, “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.”