Abstract: An improved packaging machine is provided for vacuum packing elongated products such as french fries into a succession of sealed bags. The packaging machine includes a weigh station for dropping pre-weighed product charges through a vertical column for product free-fall into a bag at a fill station, with the bag being formed from a sheet of film material drawn downwardly about the column. A divider vane subdivides the vertical column and the fill station into a pair of passages of elongated cross section, whereby the products falling through the column passages are substantially aligned as they fall into the bag. The bag is transferred from the fill station to a settling station, preferably by displacement of the divider vane and fill station. The settling station includes vibratory members to achieve substantial product settling. The bag film material may also be retracted a short stroke through a seal jaw assembly, resulting in stripping and squaring of an open end of the bag.