The tub was designed for German meat processor Stockmeyer, and targets consumers who are cautious over the meat they eat but don't want to sacrifice convenience in their food habits.

The containers were designed by Stockmeyer as a replacement for the more traditional method of packing the meat in sausage skins.

The new tubs are made using a thermoforming method and contain polyprolene and Ethylene-Vinyl Alcohol copolymer (EVOH) to protect food products from oxygen contamination.

They also offer a greater level of convenience for consumers, manufacturers claim, in particular providing easier access to the product, the ability to reseal the pack between uses, and better storage.

Several companies have this year launched new food packaging solutions aiming to appease consumers anxious over food scares.

Last month a UK study warned that meat from pigs, chickens and other livestock could be infected with a "superbug" strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Other consumer fears have been flamed by past outbreaks of bird flu, food-and-mouth disease and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

One company that responded to the problem was Cryovac, which redesigned last month its Darfresh brand specifically for meat products, incorporating vacuum and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) for safe product protection.

RPC Bebo Plastik is a subsidiary of the RPC group, which provides rigid plastic packaging to companies in the EU.

It offers thermoformed tubs for the meat, margarine, ice cream and delicatessen sectors, as well as multilayer trays for sterilisation applications, and recently launched a new range of pots for the ready-to-bake cookie market.

The RPC Group is one of Europe's leading manufacturers of rigid plastic packaging, unique in offering products made by all three main conversion processes, blowmoulding, injection moulding and thermoforming. The group has over 30 autonomous sites in 10 countries, employing in excess of 5,600 people.