The cold chain in fresh-cut and ready-to-eat products
The cross-disciplinary nature of food science and refrigeration technology allows INTARCON to design innovative, efficient and reliable solutions that reinforce consumer confidence and open up new opportunities in the agri-food sector.
Moreover, the cold chain is a key element in guaranteeing the quality and safety of fresh-cut and ready-to-eat products. In a highly competitive market, producers and installers must ensure impeccable preservation to avoid economic losses and health risks.
Fresh-cut and ready-to-eat products: freshness with high technical standards
Indeed, after washing, cutting and packaging, fresh-cut fruit and vegetables lose their natural protective layer, making them vulnerable to dehydration, microbial contamination and oxidation, significantly reducing their shelf life. Therefore, maintaining their quality, delaying deterioration and preserving freshness requires supervision at all stages: from sanitisation during processing to refrigeration in a modified atmosphere.
The final quality depends on organoleptic factors (appearance, texture, smell and taste) as well as nutritional value and, especially, food safety. In addition, current legislation establishes microbiological limits at each stage of the product’s shelf life. Compliance with these limits is only possible when the cold chain is maintained without interruption from source to consumer.
Ready-to-eat products represent an evolution in modern food. These are cooked dishes, packaged and kept cold, ready to heat or consume, made with quality raw materials and controlled processes that guarantee their cold preservation.
Furthemore, ready-to-eat foods are part of the global trend towards convenience foods, but with a distinctive approach: speed and practicality without compromising freshness or safety.
The cold chain: an invisible but critical link
Fresh-cut and ready-to-eat foods have transformed the way we consume vegetables and prepared dishes. Consumers value their convenience, freshness, and safety. However, behind that ready-to-eat tray lies a decisive technological challenge: maintaining a constant cold chain.
A small temperature deviation is enough to accelerate oxidation in vegetables, alter the texture of a precooked dish or—worse—compromise food safety due to the growth of microorganisms such as Listeria monocytogenes or Salmonella spp.
Ready-to-eat products represent an evolution in modern food. These are cooked dishes, packaged and kept chilled. Currently, these are made with quality raw materials and controlled processes that guarantee their preservation under refrigeration.
Ready-to-eat is part of the global “convenience food” trend, but with a distinctive approach: speed and practicality without compromising freshness or safety.
Cross-disciplinary view: food science and refrigeration engineering
One of INTARCON’s distinctive strengths is the integration of food knowledge and refrigeration engineering.
Understanding how a vegetable respires after cutting and how its oxidation accelerates if temperature rises, or how a cooked food needs to pass quickly through the microbiological danger zone allows us to design solutions that are more closely aligned with the realities of the process.
Consequently, this experience is now applied to our refrigeration engineering. We design systems that not only meet the required capacity, but also ensure the cold chain remains intact from production through distribution.
A strategic opportunity for the agri-food sector
Fresh-cut and ready-to-eat products require specific solutions, inlcuiding:
- Rapid cooling tunnels to minimise microbiological risks.
- Controlled and modified atmosphere systems.
- Compact and energy-efficient equipment.
- Smart monitoring technologies with real-time control.
At INTARCON, each of these innovations is approached with the premise that refrigeration is part of the production process, not an afterthought. And it is precisely this integration that makes the difference in the final quality perceived by the consumer.
For installers, working with a manufacturer that understands both refrigeration technology and food science allows them to offer specialised solutions with greater added value.
For fresh-cut and ready-to-eat food producers, having refrigeration systems designed with specific technical knowledge facilitates regulatory compliance, reduces risks and strengthens consumer confidence. The cold chain for fresh-cut and ready-to-eat products is an area where science, technology and engineering converge.
At INTARCON, we believe that the future of healthy and convenient food depends on this integration. That is why we develop refrigeration solutions based on our knowledge of food and refrigeration science.
Created by: Nil Servian
