Making waves

2 February 2010



Innovation is focusing on function, aesthetics, food quality and sustainable performance in microwaveable ready meals, writes Joanne Hunter


Up to now, plastics have had the microwaveable ready meal category all to themselves, despite a serious move by metals to rewrite the rulebook that says metal and microwaves are incompatible.

At least two major manufacturers of metal-based containers are hoping the sector can combine its energies to be seen as a viable contender in the microwaveable ready meals market. Brand owners are beginning to show interest, but they need added impetus from the container manufacturers and appliance makers, say Crown and Impress.

Under certain circumstances metal is safe to use in microwave ovens. Tests by the German Fraunhofer Institute three years ago confirmed that the kind of shallow tray and bowl suitable for ready prepared meals is ideal. An easy peel lid exists for consumer convenience, and metal remains cooler to the touch because it is indirectly heated and keeps its rigidity. Furthermore, metal containers extend shelf life, heat food evenly, and they are highly suitable for table use, reusable and recyclable.

To launch the concept commercially needs more manufacturers to ‘cross the divide’ and an appreciation of the sustainability benefits, says Steve Thomas, marketing manager at Crown Food UK & Ireland. On average, seven in 10 metal containers are recycled across Europe (six in every 10 in the UK and nine in 10 in Belgium).

Doreen Decker, group marketing manager at Impress, after five years on the project, sees food producers acknowledging the marketing possibilities for metal based microwaveable containers. Impress is in discussions with prospective customers in the UK, Spain, France and Germany.

Germans ‘for years’ have been buying Buss microwaveable ready meals in aluminium containers, notes Ms Decker.

She urges Impress’s industrial competitors to join forces to give a potentially ‘new category of containers’ added credibility among brand owners and consumers in the premium food sector. It will be important for the pack and recipe to be developed together, she adds.

Corus Packaging Plus manufactures packaging steel suitable for the type of shallow-drawn packs and creative forms needed for microwave oven use and desirable for marketers.

The company has supported the metal sector’s drive to compete in the lucrative microwavable ready meal market by developing its technical feasibility, Roger Steens, marketing manager at Corus tells Packaging Today.

Corus, he says, remains ready as ever to supply can makers wanting to be active in a new container category with its polymer coated steel Protact that has an easy to peel capability for lidding.

Microwaves from start to finish

This year, an alternative preservation method based on microwave technology will be introduced in the production of ready meals. Using MicroPast, the meals are guided in the closed plastic trays through a microwave tunnel, which cooks and pasteurises them in a single step.

This will have positive implications for the aesthetics and taste of food, for saving energy and extending shelf life, say the developers at International Packaging Systems (IPS).

IPS says its pilot facility in Switzerland can show a ‘best-before’ date of 90 days is possible in just 10 minutes compared with two to three hours for pasteurisation in a steam oven or autoclave. Tests with plastics trays have revealed no constraints in terms of substrate materials and its use can reduce production costs by up to 25%.

An alternative laser processing technique, AcuVent by Preco, can enhance fresh produce packaging by allowing consumers to steam vegetables in the microwave without removing them from the pack.

The laser technology produces controlled depth scoring or cut-through slits. These scores or slits can be registered anywhere on the film, to provide a reliable, convenient and cost effective method of microwave venting, says Preco, a US based firm with an extensive European distribution network.

AcuVent is designed to offer consumers an easy, quick way to prepare sealed frozen and refrigerated foods. When the film-covered food packs or bags are placed in the microwave, the steam generated from within the package bursts through the scoring and automatically ventilates the package.


A prototype metallic bowl by Impress shows a decorative container is ideal for table use Impress

Impress Impress


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