Abstract
The prepared convenience foods sector has become a significant part of the economy of many developed countries with a similar trend evolving in developing countries, where many types of ethnic foods are now also prepared as convenience foods. For example, the prepared convenience foods sector in Ireland is a significant part of the Irish economy. In 2001, just under half of the sector's total output was exported for a value of 841 million Euro, representing a 12% annual increase. The sector's strong growth both in exports and in total sales has made it one of the fastest growing sectors of the food industry in many countries. Consumer studies carried out on convenience foods have shown that perceived time pressures contribute positively to the purchase of both prepared meals and take-away meals. Other reasons found to contribute positively to the purchase of prepared meals include not enjoying cooking for oneself, a value-for-money perception of convenience foods and different eating times of family members. As a consequence of the increased market for convenience foods particularly, the food industry is interested in developing ways for the production of prepared meals, which are safe to eat, have an acceptable shelf-life and are of good
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Citation Formats
None.
Irradiation to ensure the safety and quality of prepared meals. Proceedings of the 2nd research co-ordination meeting of an FAO/IAEA co-ordinated research project. Working material.
IAEA: N. p.,
2004.
Web.
None.
Irradiation to ensure the safety and quality of prepared meals. Proceedings of the 2nd research co-ordination meeting of an FAO/IAEA co-ordinated research project. Working material.
IAEA.
None.
2004.
"Irradiation to ensure the safety and quality of prepared meals. Proceedings of the 2nd research co-ordination meeting of an FAO/IAEA co-ordinated research project. Working material."
IAEA.
@misc{etde_20772057,
title = {Irradiation to ensure the safety and quality of prepared meals. Proceedings of the 2nd research co-ordination meeting of an FAO/IAEA co-ordinated research project. Working material}
author = {None}
abstractNote = {The prepared convenience foods sector has become a significant part of the economy of many developed countries with a similar trend evolving in developing countries, where many types of ethnic foods are now also prepared as convenience foods. For example, the prepared convenience foods sector in Ireland is a significant part of the Irish economy. In 2001, just under half of the sector's total output was exported for a value of 841 million Euro, representing a 12% annual increase. The sector's strong growth both in exports and in total sales has made it one of the fastest growing sectors of the food industry in many countries. Consumer studies carried out on convenience foods have shown that perceived time pressures contribute positively to the purchase of both prepared meals and take-away meals. Other reasons found to contribute positively to the purchase of prepared meals include not enjoying cooking for oneself, a value-for-money perception of convenience foods and different eating times of family members. As a consequence of the increased market for convenience foods particularly, the food industry is interested in developing ways for the production of prepared meals, which are safe to eat, have an acceptable shelf-life and are of good sensorial and nutritional quality. One technology with the potential to achieve these objectives is food irradiation, which is one of the most thoroughly researched food processing technologies ever developed. It is thought that research into the application of ionizing radiation to products such as prepared meals could be of unique benefit to the food industry, particularly in developing countries where the microbiological safety of many ethnic dishes is questionable and their shelf-life limited due to the conditions under which they are produced and stored. Food irradiation used on its own or in combination with other processes such as chilling could significantly enhance the microbial safety of such products as well as extending shelf-life. This is of special importance for the most vulnerable individuals in society such as the immunocompromised. Although extensive research has been carried out on the microbiological and sensorial effects of irradiating individual uncooked food items, little work has been reported on the irradiation of mixed food systems such as prepared meals. In this CRP, the potential of using the irradiation technology for convenience foods is being investigated with regard to safety, shelflife and overall quality, particularly in terms of sensory and nutritional quality. The products being investigated include a wide range of ethnic meals such as waakye from Ghana, biltong from South Africa, galbi from Korea, spicy chicken basil rice from Thailand, and kubba and borak from Syria. Other aspects of the CRP include the development of HACCP systems for prepared meals and research into consumer acceptance of irradiated food. The overall objective of this CRP is to evaluate the effectiveness of irradiation as a method to ensure the microbiological safety and extend the shelf-life of prepared meals, stored under ambient, chilled or frozen conditions and to evaluate the sensory quality of the treated products. The specific objective of the CRP is to use validated procedures for irradiation treatment and process control, and to use validated methods for assessing microbiological safety and quality as well as sensory evaluation of prepared meals mainly of ethnic origin.}
place = {IAEA}
year = {2004}
month = {Jul}
}
title = {Irradiation to ensure the safety and quality of prepared meals. Proceedings of the 2nd research co-ordination meeting of an FAO/IAEA co-ordinated research project. Working material}
author = {None}
abstractNote = {The prepared convenience foods sector has become a significant part of the economy of many developed countries with a similar trend evolving in developing countries, where many types of ethnic foods are now also prepared as convenience foods. For example, the prepared convenience foods sector in Ireland is a significant part of the Irish economy. In 2001, just under half of the sector's total output was exported for a value of 841 million Euro, representing a 12% annual increase. The sector's strong growth both in exports and in total sales has made it one of the fastest growing sectors of the food industry in many countries. Consumer studies carried out on convenience foods have shown that perceived time pressures contribute positively to the purchase of both prepared meals and take-away meals. Other reasons found to contribute positively to the purchase of prepared meals include not enjoying cooking for oneself, a value-for-money perception of convenience foods and different eating times of family members. As a consequence of the increased market for convenience foods particularly, the food industry is interested in developing ways for the production of prepared meals, which are safe to eat, have an acceptable shelf-life and are of good sensorial and nutritional quality. One technology with the potential to achieve these objectives is food irradiation, which is one of the most thoroughly researched food processing technologies ever developed. It is thought that research into the application of ionizing radiation to products such as prepared meals could be of unique benefit to the food industry, particularly in developing countries where the microbiological safety of many ethnic dishes is questionable and their shelf-life limited due to the conditions under which they are produced and stored. Food irradiation used on its own or in combination with other processes such as chilling could significantly enhance the microbial safety of such products as well as extending shelf-life. This is of special importance for the most vulnerable individuals in society such as the immunocompromised. Although extensive research has been carried out on the microbiological and sensorial effects of irradiating individual uncooked food items, little work has been reported on the irradiation of mixed food systems such as prepared meals. In this CRP, the potential of using the irradiation technology for convenience foods is being investigated with regard to safety, shelflife and overall quality, particularly in terms of sensory and nutritional quality. The products being investigated include a wide range of ethnic meals such as waakye from Ghana, biltong from South Africa, galbi from Korea, spicy chicken basil rice from Thailand, and kubba and borak from Syria. Other aspects of the CRP include the development of HACCP systems for prepared meals and research into consumer acceptance of irradiated food. The overall objective of this CRP is to evaluate the effectiveness of irradiation as a method to ensure the microbiological safety and extend the shelf-life of prepared meals, stored under ambient, chilled or frozen conditions and to evaluate the sensory quality of the treated products. The specific objective of the CRP is to use validated procedures for irradiation treatment and process control, and to use validated methods for assessing microbiological safety and quality as well as sensory evaluation of prepared meals mainly of ethnic origin.}
place = {IAEA}
year = {2004}
month = {Jul}
}