21 - ‘Cook-chill’ ready meals, soups and sauces

Abstract

This chapter seeks to highlight a range of measures taken to assure product quality, safety and legality within the food production sectors of ‘cook-chill’ ready meals, soups and sauces. Technical considerations are provided spanning across typical cook-chill food processing stages, from recipe development through to the storage and supply of end product to the customer. As with all multicomponent food production systems the underpinning food science and technology associated with ‘cook-chill’ foods is extensive. Therefore at points the author has signposted the reader to helpful additional sources of information, particularly with regard to the control of product microbiological safety and shelf life. Encompassing such broad product categories, and with numerous alternative processing approaches applied in the cook-chill-related food sectors, the review provided here is intended to provide a ‘technical and quality management insight’ rather than a comprehensive ‘guide to’ cook-chill food production systems.