Cacciatore salami
Small Italian hunter-style salami of lean pork, firm fat, salt, pepper and garlic, mildly acidified and dry-matured; protected as Salamini Italiani alla Cacciatora DOP.
Equipment · Bags, sacks and casings
Collagen, cellulose and fibrous sausage casings
Three manufactured casing families: collagen from animal protein, regenerated cellulose, and cellulose reinforced with fibrous paper. Edibility and process properties vary by grade.
One casing family, three distinct material groups
Manufactured sausage casings give a filling a tubular shape and repeatable size. They can be made to selected diameters and strengths, and filled by hand or machinery. This record groups collagen, cellulose and fibrous products because each is a manufactured casing used in sausage production; it does not treat them as a single material.
The comparison stops short of natural sausage casings, which are prepared from animal intestine and have a separate page. It also excludes barrier plastic casings. Similar tube shapes do not make the materials, edible status, moisture movement, or suitable processing stages interchangeable.
Collagen: regenerated animal protein
Collagen casing is manufactured from collagen extracted from skins and hides. Viscofan identifies the collagen-rich inner layer of bovine skin as its main raw material. This production route differs from using an intact intestine: animal tissue supplies a protein that is processed into a casing tube.
Edible and inedible collagen casings both exist. FAO describes edible collagen casings mainly for fresh pork sausages and frankfurters, while inedible collagen casings must be removed before consumption. The word “collagen” does not tell a reader whether a specific casing stays on the finished sausage; that depends on the product grade.
Cellulose: a separate regenerated-cellulose tube
Cellulose casing is a different manufactured product. FAO describes casing made from cotton linters and notes that small-calibre casings are available in shirred form. Their permeability to smoke depends on condition: the cited guidance says they pass smoke when moist and become less permeable as they dry. Small sizes are used for skinless frankfurters, wieners and other small sausages.
The large cellulose casings covered by that FAO guidance are inedible and removed before eating. Kalle's product account also distinguishes pure viscose casings from its fibrous range. Some grades transfer smoke, colour or other properties in a controlled way, while other product constructions differ; a generic “cellulose” label is not enough to predict a finished casing's behaviour.
Sources for this section
Fibrous: cellulose reinforced with paper fibre
Fibrous casing is not a woven sack. It is a continuous cellulose-based tube reinforced with long-fibre paper, commonly abaca. ViskoTeepak's product guide describes the paper as a strength component and explains that cellulose coating, adhesion, stretch and other treatment are selected for the product and manufacturing process. Viscofan likewise describes fibrous products as a combination of cellulose and abaca paper.
That construction supports consistent dimensions and higher mechanical strength in larger sausage formats. FAO identifies dry-sausage fibrous casings as a casing that adheres as the sausage shrinks during drying. Manufacturer ranges also cover smoked, cooked and other products; suitability follows the grade and specification, not simply the broad family name.
Choose for the intended sausage and process
The casing is a boundary around the filling. Its diameter, strength, adhesion and permeability affect how a product can be stuffed, handled, smoked, peeled or dried, but they do not replace the sausage's formulation and controlled process. Two tubes may look similar and still behave differently because their materials and treatments differ.
The protected Italian Salamini Italiani alla Cacciatora specification is one example of a product-specific rule: it permits natural or artificial casing up to 75 mm. That statement applies to the protected product, not every salami or as a general recommendation to select any artificial casing. Other sausages require their own documented grade and process.
An industrial family with named milestones
These casings belong to modern industrial manufacture and circulate internationally. Kalle dates the introduction of its Nalo seamless cellulose-viscose casing to 1929. ViskoTeepak's own history says its Visko company began cellophane casing production in 1952 and started fibrous casing production in 1962. These dates are company-reported milestones for named products; they do not establish a single invention date for all manufactured collagen, cellulose and fibrous casings.
ViskoTeepak lists production plants for fibrous and cellulose casings in Hanko, Finland, and Lommel, Belgium, and reports a partner network through which its products reach nearly 100 countries. These details show named manufacturing and distribution contexts. They do not make Finland or Belgium the origin of every casing type, or mean every grade is available in every market.
Sources for this section
History
Kalle says it introduced its Nalo seamless cellulose-viscose casing in 1929; ViskoTeepak dates its cellophane production to 1952 and fibrous-casing production to 1962. These are company milestones for named products, not dates for the origin of collagen casing or every artificial casing.
Equipment details
CapacityA casing is a tubular envelope, not a vessel with a single batch capacity; product size varies.
SizeCalibre and supplied length vary by product grade and application; the sources do not support one dimension for this family.
PowerNo power A casing is a passive container; filling and processing equipment are separate.
How you get oneBought, manufactured Commercial grades are produced in multiple materials, forms, sizes and surface treatments. Select by the maker's specification for the intended sausage and process.
CareFollow the specific manufacturer's directions for conditioning, filling, clipping, peeling, and storage. Requirements differ by casing material and grade; directions for one type should not be transferred to another.
Made of
- Regenerated collagen — Material for some edible and inedible sausage casings
Collagen is extracted from animal skins and hides; Viscofan describes bovine corium as its main collagen source. A collagen casing is a manufactured tube, not a natural intestine. Edible status varies by product. - Regenerated cellulose — Material for cellulose sausage casings
FAO describes cellulose casing made from cotton linters. Cellulose casings are distinct from both collagen and paper-reinforced fibrous casing; large cellulose casings described by FAO are inedible and removed before eating. - Cellulose and abaca fibre paper — Reinforced material for fibrous sausage casings
ViskoTeepak describes a cellulose-based tube strengthened with long-fibre abaca paper. It is a continuous casing, not an open-weave basket or mesh.
Limits
The three material families are not interchangeable: collagen comes from animal collagen; cellulose is regenerated plant cellulose; fibrous casing is cellulose strengthened with paper fibre.
Source →Cellulose casings described by FAO are inedible and removed before consumption. Collagen casings can be edible or inedible; check the exact grade.
Source →Permeability, adhesion, size and peelability are product-specific. A casing made for cooked or smoked products is not automatically suitable for a fermented drying process.
Source →The casing does not by itself establish fermentation, curing, drying or food-safety controls for the sausage.
Source →Places
Unknown
Relationship not established · Place not establishedThe inspected sources do not establish a specific place of origin or a representative place of use for this equipment category. Manufacturer-specific examples do not establish the geography of the broader type.
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Sources
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United NationsForm · Materials · Function · Limits
Guidelines for slaughtering, meat cutting and further processing: casingsFAO describes artificial casings as uniform cylindrical forms available in product-specific diameters and strengths, filled by hand or machine.
Cellulose casings from cotton linters can be shirred; small varieties can pass smoke when moist, while larger types are inedible and removed before eating.
Collagen casings are regenerated from skins and hides and can be edible or inedible.
Dry-sausage fibrous casings adhere to the product during drying.
Cited in: One casing family, three distinct material groups; Collagen: regenerated animal protein; Cellulose: a separate regenerated-cellulose tube; Fibrous: cellulose reinforced with paper fibre; Choose for the intended sausage and process
Viscofan GroupMaterials · Manufacture
Consolidated management report 2025Viscofan identifies cellulose as the main raw material for cellulose wraps and describes collagen casings as primarily using the collagen-rich inner layer of bovine skin.
Viscofan distinguishes fibrous casings as cellulose combined with abaca paper from collagen casings and plastic wraps.
Cited in: Collagen: regenerated animal protein; Fibrous: cellulose reinforced with paper fibre
ViskoTeepakMaterials · Manufacture · Geography · History · Use
Fibrous Casings Product GuideThe guide describes fibrous casing as a cellulose-based tube strengthened with long-fibre abaca paper, with properties tailored to product and process.
ViskoTeepak reports a worldwide partner network through which its products reach nearly 100 countries.
The guide identifies fibrous and cellulose production plants in Hanko, Finland, and Lommel, Belgium; these are company sites, not origins for all casing products.
The company's history dates cellophane casing manufacture to 1952 and its start of fibrous casing manufacture to 1962.
Cited in: One casing family, three distinct material groups; Fibrous: cellulose reinforced with paper fibre; An industrial family with named milestones
Kalle GroupHistory · Materials · Use
Fibrous casingsKalle dates its Nalo seamless cellulose-viscose casing, usually strengthened with fibre paper, to 1929.
Kalle distinguishes pure viscose casing from fibrous casing and describes fibrous casing for firm dry sausages where stable calibre is needed.
1929 is a company product milestone, not an origin date for all manufactured sausage casings.
Cited in: Cellulose: a separate regenerated-cellulose tube; An industrial family with named milestones
Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica ItalianaDocumented use · Link
Disciplinare di produzione della DOP Salamini Italiani alla Cacciatora (decree of 13 November 2024)The protected-product specification permits natural or artificial casing up to 75 mm for Salamini Italiani alla Cacciatora; this is an example for that protected product only.
Cited in: Choose for the intended sausage and process