Manufacturing of meat sausage: Filling

Prior to filling the casings, it is important to eliminate oxygen from the mixture using vacuum-filling devices, and the temperature of the mix should not exceed 2°C.

When filling sausages, the two primary objectives are to ensure precise portioning and to remove any air pockets from the product. The removal of air enhances the color stability and visual appeal of the sausages.

Sausages can be filled with a soft, less compact, or compact consistency depending on the specific requirements of the producer.

There are two main types of sausage casings: natural and synthetic. Natural casings are derived from the digestive tracts of animals, such as sheep (3/4-inch in diameter), hog (1-3/8 inches), and cattle (1-3/8 inches) intestines. Natural casings, sourced from the intestines of animals, are commonly used, along with casings made from modified collagen or cellulose.

Traditionally, sausages are stuffed into natural casings obtained from animal intestines, but artificial casings are also available in the market. Nowadays, synthetic casings are predominantly used in most commercial sausages.

Fresh sausages can also be filled into small-diameter synthetic or artificial casings, or they can be extruded into short, large-diameter plastic casings known as "chub" packs, typically containing 1 to 2 pounds of meat. Fibrous casings are more suitable for summer sausage and similar products due to their superior strength and the variety of sizes they offer. These casings allow smoke and moisture to permeate the sausages and can be easily removed from the finished product.
Manufacturing of meat sausage: Filling

Canning of lima beans

The lima bean is a green or light flat bean. It is use only for the seed, the pods being coarse or woody. Some lima beans are canned and they are handled in such the same manner as the frozen product except that they may or may not be passed through the quality grader.

In case it is the fresh beans, the beans are first washed carefully and stored. They are size-graded and then blanched in hot water at 88-95 °C – the amount of time depends upon the maturity of beans, varying from 2 to 3 minutes for young, tender beans to 7 or 8 minutes for more mature tougher beans.

The beans are automatically metered into cans. The filled cans pass to the briner where a boiling hot 2% salt brine is added to completely fill the can. The cans are sealed and heat-processed.

Some lima beans to be canned are allowed to mature and dry out on the vine before harvesting. In such cases, the beans must be soaked in water for purposes of rehydrating prior to further processing.
Canning of lima beans