Commercial Vacuum Sealers

Vacuum Pack Machines and Food Packaging Machines: What You Need to Know

Vacuum pack machines, often referred to as commercial vacuum sealers or food packaging machines, remove air from specially designed storage bags before sealing them using heat. This process preserves freshness, extends shelf life, and protects food quality during storage, freezing, or sous vide cooking. In restaurants, grocery stores, and food production environments, vacuum packaging equipment improves efficiency while reducing food waste and freezer burn.

Operators use vacuum packaging machines for everything from long-term meat and dry good storage to sous vide ingredient prep or portion control. Whether you need a small external sealer for light-duty packaging or a heavy-duty chamber vacuum machine for high-volume operations, KaTom carries a full selection of food packaging machines to support your workflow.

Why Operators Use Vacuum Packaging Machines

• Extend shelf life for fresh and frozen foods
• Improve storage efficiency and prevent freezer burn
• Prepare products for sous vide or batch cooking
• Package ingredients, proteins, and liquids for retail or back of house use
• Reduce food waste through portioning and airtight sealing

Common Questions About Vacuum Sealers

How does a commercial vacuum sealer work?

Vacuum sealers contain either an internal chamber that removes the air around and in the bag before sealing it with heat and reintroducing air, or a connection that externally sucks the air out of the bag before sealing it. Depending on the unit, you may set the sealing process by time, percentage of air removed, or pressure. Delicate items that need to retain their form, such as tomatoes, may require less of a vacuum. Internal chamber units may also protect fragile items or prevent puncture in items with bones by slowly reintroducing air, a feature known as "soft air." Hard cheeses, meats, and other solid items can maintain their integrity when air is completely removed, enabling prolonged storage. In both in-chamber and external units, a heated seal bar – some machines have two bars for extra protection – melts the ends of the bag together when the unit has established a vacuum. Total sealing time depends on several variables, but it's typically less than a minute.

What foods should not be stored under vacuum seal?

While vacuum sealing most food preserves integrity and avoids freezer burn, operators should generally avoid the following ingredients when using a vacuum sealer for food storage:

• Soft cheeses: Cheese needs the right mixture of air and moisture to maintain a balance without molding and drying out. Hard cheese can survive under a vacuum seal, as it removes most of the air and locks in moisture, but soft cheese becomes susceptible to mold.
• Certain raw fruits and vegetables: Some fruits and vegetables ripen quickly under a vacuum or release gases. Cooks can prepare some items such as leafy greens by blanching, which involves a brief boiling period followed by a cold water bath to stop unwanted release of gases without cooking the food item.
• Hot foods: Users should generally wait for hot food to cool before vacuum sealing; however, some commercial vacuums sealers have a mode that can handle this function.

Can I vacuum seal liquids?

External vacuum sealing machines cannot handle liquids unless they are pre-frozen. Chamber unit operators should consult their unit's instruction manual before attempting to seal liquids, since they require a weaker seal. Moisture can damage the vacuum pump, so some units include a pump conditioning process that should be completed daily or weekly, depending on use. Units may have a setting that seals liquids at the ideal pressure using a moisture sensor.

What is sous vide cooking?

Sous vide, which means ""under vacuum"" in French, is a style of cooking developed in the 1960s that involves submerging a vacuum-packed plastic bag in a low-heat bath to reach a precise temperature throughout the food. Cooks can prepare food for this process with a vacuum-sealing machine.

What size vacuum packaging machines are available?

In-chamber units may have a width and depth of 2 or 3 feet and a similar height, although taller floor units are also available. Chamber volume is typically more than half the total unit size. Customers should check the size of the chamber to see if it can accommodate the amount of food they need.

External units take up approximately 1 square foot of countertop space and usually measure less than 1 foot high. Except in smaller, handheld pistol systems, seal bar width determines the bag width the user can vacuum seal, and it ranges from 10 to 20 inches. Operators may seal multiple bags simultaneously, provided the sum of their widths is less than the width of the sealer bar.

Shop KaTom's collection of the best vacuum sealers to find the right pieces for your operation.