Prepared food industry

Wasted food is a major drain on business and on the planet. Shelf Engine, a perishable foodforecasting specialist, estimates that supermarkets alone discard more than 43 billion poundsof food each year and that excessive food waste costs the grocery industry more than $50billion in lost profits annually.

Key market insights
The global prepared meals market size was valued at USD 147.04 bilion in 2021. The market is projected to grow fromUSD 156.33 billion in 2022 t USD 248.13 billion by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 6.8% during the forecast period. Theglobal COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented and staggering, with prepared meals experiencing marginallyreduced demand across all regions compared to pre-pandemic levels. Based on our analysis, the global marketexhibited an average growth of 5.90% in 2020 as compared to 2019.
Prepared meals are packaged fresh and frozen. They require a little preparation besides heating up. Buvers' inclinationfor packaged "ready meals" with fewer preservatives and longer shelf life has augmented the demand for High-Pressure Processing (HPP) technology. This technology uses pressure spread by water to eradicate pathogens andother spoilage microorganisms. This advanced technology can enhance shelf life two to threefold without dependingon preservatives.

Despite the rapid growth in the market size of the prepared vegetable industry, its quality (ingredients and packaging materials) varies and there are many problems. Prepared vegetable packaging is the same as food, safety is the first element.
In order to cope with the packaging safety problems in the prepared vegetable industry, GBPI, a national specialized and special small giant, has deeply studied the market demand and launched a prepared food packaging testing solution to help the development of the prepared food industry!

Prepared food packaging testing solutions

Safety: as semi-processed food, its packaging materials should be non-toxic, corrosion-resistant, and will not produce substances harmful to food under extreme conditions (high temperature, high cold, etc.).
Barrier: Prepared food packaging needs to have a strong seal and high barrier, suitable packaging can not only block oxygen, water vapor and other gases, but also block odors to avoid food contamination in the process of transportation and storage, which affects food quality.
In addition to the safety of packaging materials and barrier, because the food from the factory to the hands of consumers, need to go through transportation, storage, sales and other links, in the process, the food may be handling, vibration, extrusion and other operations, unqualified food packaging will lead to bag damage, poor sealing and other problems, resulting in food contamination, affecting product quality, as shown in the figure.

Prepared vegetable barrier testing instruments recommended:

W413 2.0 Infrared method water vapor transmission rate tester

Water is necessary for microbial reproduction, and if the water permeability of prepared food packaging is relatively high, it may lead to higher moisture content in food, breeding bacteria, moisture and mold, and endanger consumer health. Therefore, for prepared foods, testing the water vapor transmission rate of their packaging can effectively assess food safety and select appropriate packaging for the product.

For low-barrier packaging materials, gas permeability is high, oxygen, nitrogen and other gases are easy to enter the interior of the food packaging, may occur with certain substances in the food chemical reaction, affecting the taste and quality of food, but also produce safety problems. Therefore, the testing of packaging material permeability is a necessary consideration for the food packaging industry indicators, food safety, more important than Mount Tai.

Y310 2.0 Oxygen transmission rate tester by Coulomb power method

Oxygen is an aid to many food chemical reactions. For food packaging materials with high permeability, oxygen enters the food interior and its content gradually rises, accelerating food deterioration and shortening food shelf life. Therefore, prepared foods need high barrier materials to prevent oxygen from passing through, protect food safety, extend product shelf life and improve product quality.