Packaged for
protection
Prof AA Joshi shares few interesting facts on packaging
materials and the processes involved in RTE foods
Ready-to-eat (RTE) foods are catching
up in many cities and towns due to
the convenience it offers to the
consumer. RTEs, which have been developed
in the last few years in the Indian market,
primarily refer to cooked and processed
vegetables, curry and rice dishes and other
specialities, that are a part of a typical Indian
meal. Though RTE food products are
considered as premium products and a luxury
affordable to the high-income consumers,
they often become a necessity during natural
calamities like floods - or for the army, who
has to work in remote areas on high altitudes
and in other similar circumstances. RTE foods
are also carried by travellers, particularly
those going overseas, who do not get to taste
their local foods, and have to stay on for
weeks or months in such countries.
In true sense, common snacks like farsan,
chiwda, muruku (chakli), potato wafers,
chocolate, biscuits and similar products fit the
definition of RTE foods. Unpacking of the
product is all that is required to consume
them. Foods popularly known as RTE require
a process of thawing and/or warming or
similar processes to make it suitable and tasty
to consume.
Most RTE products contain high
flavoured ingredients with excessive
moisture/water contents and similar
components, which tend to deteriorate due to
bacterial growth and thus become unsafe for
consumption. Snack foods such as farsan and
chivda deteriorate more due to moisture
loss/gain and factors like oxidative rancidity.
In such products, it is important to prevent
atmospheric humidity from accessing the
products through the packaging used.
The shelf life of such products depend
upon the initial level of moisture and similar
quality parameters, as well as the time that
these parameters take to cross the critical
values in a given packaging. It is therefore
seen that such products can be packed
efficiently for a limited shelf life of around six
months or more, by using relatively simple
packaging structure such as multilayer films or
laminates made from polymer films, paper and
like materials, which provide good barrier to
prevent ingress of moisture and oxygen.
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