Page 30 - FoodFocusThailand No.187 October 2021

SPECIAL FOCUS

How efficient technology augment

the production of Ready-To-Eat

and Ready-To-Cook products

Besides the COVID-19 pandemic, the vital
factor has vastly triggered the change of
consumer behavior. Consumers today have
changed their behaviors, as never before, to
ease their hustle daily lives to buy their ways
of comforts. In parallel with the growing of
single-family, the food purchase, the meal
preparation, and the dietary requirement for
a family meal have been fully affected. It is
noted that consumers are very concerned of
their safety and health regarding their direct
consumption. Consequently, Ready-to-Cook and
Ready-to-Eat foods consumption has grown up
rapidly. Especially for Ready-to-Eat food, it has
become the trend with the continuous market
growth since 2017. In 2021, it is expected
that the market can reach 23,686 million baht.
However, there is one crucial challenge for
Ready-to-Eat and Ready-to-Cook foods. That is
how to satisfy customers’ preferences in taste.

The excellent taste of food now comes with food safety and quality workers cannot return to Thailand after returning to their home
assurance. Ready-to-Eat food with the production standard and safety countries. Besides, the food producers always want to reduce the risk
certified presently brings a delicious taste like a restaurant’s fresh-cook of contamination by the workers. Therefore, the machine can play a
food. The taste perception also becomes a great attribute to Ready-to- significant role in the food industry in every production process.
Cook products, which meat is just added to when cooking. Both of them
become the choice of consumers in the New Normal era. Therefore, Material Preparation
food producers shall pay attention to their taste from the ingredient In food processing, raw materials are often contaminated by dirt and
mixtures and raise the food safety standards in the entire process to foreign objects. So, the cleaning process is the preliminary preparation
create consumer confidence. In addition to the food quality and safety, to reduce all kinds of contamination hidden in raw materials.
the product’s shelf life is also equally important. When a purchase can’t The primary purpose is to make them more hygienic and safer for
be made regularly, consumers look for a product with longer shelf life consumption. It also gives the food a more extended shelf life.
at room temperature and freezing conditions. Thus, the combination of Additionally, separating foreign objects, such as metal, is beneficial
food additives, production, and packaging technology must be seriously for machine operation to avoid disruption.
considered in the production process. As the primary raw materials of Ready-to-Eat foods, meat and
In general, Ready-to-Eat and Ready-to-Cook meals are done in a vegetables are often cleaned by water rinsing. If the washing process
small portion for one person only. Furthermore, some meals may contain occurs in a small container without proper water circulation and
many ingredients and side dishes with separate packaging. According replacement, the cleaning process may not be sufficient. Thus, a
to the above reasons, the volume of packaging is a hike along with the high-quality washing machine can increase the cleaning performance.
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rise of sales. Since modern consumers are more environmentally A continuous washing machine with spiral water circulating can be a
conscious, food producers should select a compostable and good solution. Several options, such as an air blowing system, brush
environmental-friendly material for their packaging. During the Covid-19 can be added to improve the performance. Those can ensure dirt
outbreak, there was another crucial issue. Labor shortage becomes a removal from raw materials. There are available filtration solutions.
significant problem in food production. The scarcity of labor derives The first is to separate floating particles, such as foam beads, chili
from the fact that the infected workers are quarantined, and the foreign seeds, or basil flowers. The second is to separate heavy objects, such

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