Cheaper to package. They can just have a crazy long tube of meat going through a roll of film that gets tied off by a machine and they’ve got a ready-to-sell product. The chunks that come in the little trays have to get chopped, placed on the tray, then wrapped (which is probably still 99% automated, but more steps, more machinery, and more actual packaging)
Tube meat is commonly associated with “cheap”/bulk meat, so for marketing purposes, the individual packs may sell better.
I understand that the more the ground meat is handled, the taste/ texture can suffer. The long meat tube method may subject the meat to more unfavorable handling, ie the ties at the end compressing the meat more than an individual package.
Cheaper to package. They can just have a crazy long tube of meat going through a roll of film that gets tied off by a machine and they’ve got a ready-to-sell product. The chunks that come in the little trays have to get chopped, placed on the tray, then wrapped (which is probably still 99% automated, but more steps, more machinery, and more actual packaging)
That makes sense, but it doesn’t explain why the high end meat isn’t packaged the same way.
Good point. My two guesses would be:
Tube meat is commonly associated with “cheap”/bulk meat, so for marketing purposes, the individual packs may sell better.
I understand that the more the ground meat is handled, the taste/ texture can suffer. The long meat tube method may subject the meat to more unfavorable handling, ie the ties at the end compressing the meat more than an individual package.
Those both sound believable enough to me!