NOTE TO MARKETING . . . AND PACKAGING Convenience does not just mean time saved in the cooking process. Consumers want their food and beverage products to open easily, store easily and be resealable, easily disposable and easily transportable (or portable). That requires marketing and packaging members of the team discussing the issues. Marketing certainly can set the goals, but the packaging people can determine how to meet them. There are plenty of new packaging materials and associated technologies that can deliver your convenient-to-cook product in a container that also is convenient – before, during and after meal preparation. Packaging is no longer designed with a single purpose in mind – to hold food as best as it can. Packaging also conveys the quality or utility of the product. Consumers select based on their perception of how "convenient" the packaging makes the product look. Notions such as "recipes or ways to use leftovers" and "ideal accompaniments" entice the uninitiated and help even loyal consumers. |
THREE RULES TO KEEP IN MIND
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'HURDLE TECHNOLOGY' FOR SAFETY Meal kits often include different types of food items including bakery, dairy, produce and freshly prepared food products — each of which has different modes of failure. The shelf life of the kit is governed by whichever item spoils first. The stability and safety of most foods depend on several factors (hurdles), and formulators should combine hurdles to extend shelf life, ensure safety, and maintain sensory and nutritive quality. The term "hurdle technology" implies that a combination of processes or hurdles is applied in the food system, and that the bacteria and pathogens have to "jump over" these hurdles before they spoil the product. These hurdles involve water activity, temperature, redox potential, modified atmosphere and preservatives, among others, and often show synergism and enhanced effect. Using hurdles simultaneously allows for gentler applications of preservatives for stability and safety without loss in sensory and nutritional properties of the food. Limited assurance of ideal storage and handling conditions makes hurdle technology essential for ensuring the safety of perishable items in meal kits. Hurdle technology is widely used to customize the food formulation to distribution, retail and consumer needs and environments. For instance, modifying the water activity and pH of the formulation can adapt the product to distribution and handling at ambient temperature. The modified product can now be stable and safe without refrigeration. |