Food & Beverage News: Top Stories - <font face="Comic Sans MS" color = "#FF0000" size="2"> Feature </font></b><br>Lazy to cook? Just heat & eat

With more and more couples going out for work, rise in income levels, changing food habits and lifestyles, the demand for ready-to-eat (RTE) or convenience food is growing fast. The consumer is also happy about the convenience that these foods offer along with competitive pricing, improved quality and trendier & better packaging.

Convenience food is ready-to-eat or ready-to-cook processed food that require minimum preparation before eating - just cut open the packet, heat it preferably in a microwave and eat it. According to one definition, the products branded as convenience food are sold in portion-controlled, single serve packaging designed for portability for "on the go" or later eating. Convenience food is often confused with Fast Food which is a term used for a limited menu of foods lending to production-line techniques. Consumers buy it and eat it on the spot or at their workplace as they are in a hurry and are on the move. For example -- hamburgers, pizzas, sandwiches, vada pav, samosas. Dubbed as junk food, people with diabetes, high blood pressure and other heart diseases are advised not to eat fast food due to the high content of fat, salt and sugar.

Convenience foods are generally traditional foods prepared and packaged by a manufacturer that need little or no further cooking before being consumed. They can be used at any time, quickly and easily with or without heating. They can be stored and conveniently opened as the need arises. It is, however, better to consume the entire content in one go once the packet is opened. Refrigeration is possible but the food gets spoiled fast and loses the taste and flavour. Though convenient and inexpensive for a busy lifestyle, they too are dangerous as they are typically high in calories, fat, saturated fat, sugar, salt and trans-fats. The fact is that you have no control over their production as in home-cooked food. The manufacturer uses oil, masalas and other ingredients of his choice and liking.

The changing food habits, higher incomes, increasing number of working couples, lack of time for cooking at home, and the increasing number of senior citizens without family help, have increased the demand for convenience foods. It saves time, back-breaking effort and fuel. The foods are tasty and generally wholesome and the range of foods available in the market fulfills the family's needs instantly. They are useful during emergencies, when someone falls sick and family members do not find time to work in the kitchen, when guests land uninformed. One can also taste different foods as one may not be good at cooking all kind of foods at home. The traditional Indian society believed in cooking family meals daily and serving it fresh and hot. However, with both husband and wife working in offices, it is becoming a compelling need to switch over to ready-to-eat foods to save time and energy. And for others this time can be used for some other constructive and innovative work.

The Indian RTE food sector is worth Rs 150-200 crore and is growing fast. Convenience foods include products such as packaged Indian curries and pulavs as marketed by MTR, processed meats and cheeses, canned fish and meat products, milk products, fruit juices and health drinks, snacks and nuts, noodles, soups and a host of other products that can be directly consumed without cooking. Even traditional items like idli, dosa for ready consumption and their mixes for instant preparation at home are also available in the market these days. Besides the growing demand from the urban population, especially the middleclass working population, the boom in modern retailing with the opening of malls, supermarkets and hypermarkets, has further added to the growth of the RTE segment where only pickles, chutneys and jams once dominated. With the RTE basket growing and blending itself with the urban lifestyle, RTE food packets are now becoming need-based picks rather than being a matter of impulse buying during shopping sprees.

Modern convenience foods saw their beginning in the period that began after World War II in the United States. Many of these products had their origin in military developed foods designed for storage, longevity and ease of preparation in the battlefield. After the war, many commercial food companies were left with surplus manufacturing facilities. These companies developed new lines of canned and freeze dried foods that were designed for use in the home. Whether convenience foods have revolutionised food habits over the last couple of decades, as some say, or whether changing food habits, influenced by a changing lifestyle and the challenges of the working environment in modern industrial sectors, have demanded or facilitated the development of convenience foods, remains an open question. But the fact is, that convenience food finds its buyers worldwide. In a recent Internet survey by AC Neilsen, 87% of consumers said they eat ready meals for reasons of time or cost, rather than cooking themselves. Such products are especially popular in Asia, and the market research indicates that as many as one in every two consumers in Germany already firmly believes that the use of convenience food helps with running the house.

With a large number of Indian diaspora living abroad, Indian companies making convenience food initially tried to target them. But this segment of the food industry has an equally large domestic market. This segment is at present dominated by Bangalore-based MTR Foods, ITC, HUL, Satnam, Godrej, Haldiram's, Nestle, Amul, Priya Foods, and many others. Except the south-based MTR which has a national presence, no other ready-to-eat brand is available everywhere. Except in large supermarkets, it is difficult to find these brands in the neighbourhood kirana stores. So retailing has a major role to play in the growth of this segment. With sophisticated packaging technology at their disposal, these companies are making full use of the increased shelf space across retail joints now.. The cold chain development in the country is also encouraging and the manufacturers know that this market can only grow further. It is likely that more players will be entering this market with the existing players extending their reach.

MTR Foods is amongst the top five processed food manufacturers in India. The company claims to market and export a wide range of packaged foods to global markets that include the US, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, UAE and Oman. MTR Foods delivers 22 delicious and completely authentic Indian curries, gravies and rice preparations.

ITC has two different offers under convenience food: (i) Premium RTE dishes under Kitchens of India - delicacies from ITC hotels' restaurants and creations of master chefs - these are positioned at SEC A++ households, who are ready to experiment with various cuisines and love to entertain people at home. (ii) Popular RTE dishes under "Ashirvaad Ready Meals - These are every day dishes, which are wholesome and are accepted by various palates across the country. ITC also sells chakki-fresh Ashirvaad atta, ready-made wheat flour added with nutrients. Satnam Overseas Ltd sells Kohinoor Heat & Eat Indian curries and ready-made parathas. The company uses the well-established retort technology to offer extended shelf life to the products through steam sterilisation. Godrej group sells Real Good brand chicken ready for cooking. Haldiram's, the traditional sweet maker, offers packaged Bhel puri chats such as Sev Puri, Chana Masala, Samosas, Pakoras, Alu Tikki, Pav Bhajji, Gol Gappa, Dhokla, among others.

Apart from being known for its dairy products, Amul has ventured into the ready-to-eat industry and includes processed cheese, pure ghee, Shrikhand, Nutramul and Gulab Jamuns, Yoghurt among its offerings. Nestle offers Maggie brand ready-to-cook noodles and soups, besides yoghurt and breakfast cereals. HUL has ready-to-eat chapattis, and instant tea and coffee from its stable. Priya Foods has a range of popular traditional recipes starting from Dal Makhani, Navaratan Kurma to Palak Paneer, Paneer Butter Masala, Punjabi Chole and Rajma Masala along with true southern delicacies like Andhra Veg. Pulav, Mango Dal, Gongura Dal. Priya's products are available in the US, Canada, West Indies, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, the UK, New Zealand etc.

Gits and Tasty Bites Eatables are two Pune-based companies that provide popular ready-to cook and eat instant foods that cover a range of ethnic Indian cuisine. Tasty Bites has exceptional retort pouches developed for the Apollo space programme. Tested to withstand extreme temperatures and heights from well below sea level to as high as the moon, this retort packaging has made Tasty Bites favourite with campers, mountain climbers, sailing expeditions and desert safaris.

With a modest beginning in 1990s, the RTE food industry has grown to share a large portion of the food processing industry. Packaging plays a big role in preserving RTE foods, increasing shelf life and retaining freshness and taste. Attractive packaging also brings in impulse buyers. Apart from traditional convenience foods, there are three main routes of RTE - the first using retort technology, the second IQF technology and the third extrusion technology.

Along with good packaging, food safety is ensured and monitored by labelling. The labelling norms introduced by the Government of India require information on the date of manufacturing, expiry date, the ingredients used in the product, the nutritional value and other manufacturing details. With the growing awareness food hygiene and food safety, consumers are demanding healthy and reliable food. As the newly appointed Food Safety and Standards Authority is busy preparing the safety guidelines, RTE industry would be well advised to follow the norms set out in the Food Safety Management Systems in HACCP.

So you want to experiment with the RTE food and you don't have the time and patience to cook at home. When you go grocery shopping next time, reach out for a ready-to eat pack for your dose of pongal, jodhpuri halwa, a pulao or biriyani. Thanks to a change in lifestyle, more and more people are opting for ready-to-eat food in a big way. Why do you wait?