COSTPANO® - A new approach to the pasteurization of ready meals

For a long time, frozen products dominated the range of ready meals on offer. However, a lot has changed on the market as customers' expectations have changed. Consumers of ready meals are now more concerned with high quality. The younger generation is more informed about ingredients and has a different attitude to healthy products than a few years ago. The demand for better ingredients and nutrition-conscious concepts is constantly increasing. The need for organic, vegetarian or vegan products is becoming increasingly important.

But this is where frozen products reach their limits. The freezing, defrosting and cooking process kills off vitamins and nutrients and the taste usually suffers too. In addition, the environmental balance and the economic figures for these products are very unfavorable. They require the most expensive storage, the most expensive transportation and are placed in the most expensive areas in the supermarket. Reheating takes a very long time for the consumer, which in turn does not fit in with the modern concept of convenience.

These are the key reasons why fresh, chilled products are increasingly in demand in the convenience sector. The advantages are obvious. The food is packaged pre-cooked and only needs to be reheated in the microwave. This preserves the taste in this state.

However, there is one crucial catch. Production and filling can be highly automated and continuous up to a certain point. However, when it comes to the final stage of quality assurance, things get complicated. The necessary pasteurization process is carried out using the conservative method in a water bath, which kills the harmful germs in the food. However, this process has the disadvantage that it is time-consuming and therefore expensive and important nutrients are lost.

For the previous pasteurization of ready meal trays with the more energy-efficient microwave irradiation, perforation of the film and the use of a non-return valve were essential in order to prevent the trays from bursting due to the excess pressure. However, this also poses the risk of new germs being drawn into the product from the ambient air during cooling and the resulting vacuum. In addition, grease residues form around the hole, making it impossible to subsequently seal the film reliably.

The innovative and pioneering COSTPANO® process from Fricke and Mallah Microwave Technology GmbH in Peine has reinvented the heat treatment of food using microwaves. The basic idea is that the protective film remains closed so that the nutrients in the shell and the harmful germs remain outside. The globally patented COSTPANO® process eliminates the excess pressure in the tray and makes both the hole and the valve in the sealing film superfluous. In addition, COSTPANO® creates very homogeneous temperature fields in the trays with a linear increase over time, which enables energy-saving, gentle and aromatic cooking.

This heating method physically prevents overpressure in the menu trays, which eliminates the risk of explosions and deformation of the menu bases. A hole or valve in the sealing film is no longer required. The steam can no longer escape through the sealed film, which leads to considerable energy savings, prevents the formation of odors and preserves the aromas of the food. As the steam does not escape inside the conveyor systems, there is no condensation or contamination.

The process has been certified by an internationally recognized research institute in the field of food technology.

COSTPANO® is also the only system that is suitable for pasteurizing new types of sustainable packaging made of cardboard or organic material, as the heating power control is so intelligent that the more sensitive materials are not damaged.