Are pre-prepared meals unsafe? Do they reduce nutritional quality? Are they harmful to health? The truth is →

gossip

With the accelerated pace of life and the increasing pressure of work, more and more people are unwilling to spend too much time and energy on home cooking. Therefore, pre-prepared meals that are convenient, easy to use, time-saving and labor-saving have become popular among the public in recent years. However, while pre-prepared meals are "hot", many people have also begun to worry about their safety and nutrition, and even spread the saying that " pre-prepared meals are unsafe, unnutritious and unhealthy ". Is this the truth?

analyze

Let’s first talk about what pre-prepared meals are, what are the characteristics of pre-prepared meals, and how big is the market size.

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According to the group standard issued by the China Cuisine Association, pre-prepared dishes are semi-finished or finished products made from one or more ingredients as the main raw materials, with or without auxiliary ingredients and seasonings, and processed by washing, cutting, matching, or cooking by frying, deep-frying, baking, boiling, steaming, etc. They can be divided into four categories: ready-to-eat, ready-to-heat, ready-to-cook, and ready-to-match pre-prepared dishes.

The so-called ready-to-eat food, as the name suggests, is food that can be eaten directly after opening, such as braised meat, pickled pepper chicken feet, etc. This kind of food is very suitable for us to take home and eat.

Instant heat type refers to food that can be eaten after simple reheating, such as tomato scrambled eggs, fish-flavored pork shreds, Kung Pao chicken and other fast food meal packages. This type of food is more commonly used in some Chinese fast food restaurants.

Ready-to-cook products are products that have already been processed with the main ingredients and can be eaten with or without auxiliary ingredients after cooking. For example, shrimp paste, quick-frozen dumplings, quick-frozen buns, etc. Those who often go to the supermarket must have seen this type of products. You can simply process them at home.

Ready-to-eat products are products that have been simply processed by washing and cutting, with or without auxiliary materials. If we buy this kind of food, we can save the time of pre-processing, especially those who are not good at knife skills will definitely like it, but it still has high requirements for cooking skills.

From ancient times to the present, we have been cooking and eating freshly prepared food, so why did pre-prepared meals appear?

Although the food categories are different, they all share three common features: the selection of raw materials, the use of tools, facilities and equipment, and the application of techniques and technologies. On this basis, three major categories of food have emerged: "industrial food", "handmade food" and "fast food". With the development of cold chain technology and the rise of takeout, these three categories of food are obviously no longer able to meet the growing demand of the food consumption market.

On the one hand, people’s requirements for diet have long risen from the low level of “eating enough” to “eating well”, and now they are pursuing “eating healthily”. They want to enjoy “delicious” food at home that is nutritionally balanced, time-saving, convenient, and colorful, fragrant and delicious.

On the other hand, some restaurants, hotels, restaurants and other catering companies, especially low- and medium-end restaurants, also need to reduce the working hours of chefs, lower the requirements for the personal technical level of chefs, and shorten the time it takes to serve food in takeout. Only in this way can the catering companies increase their economies of scale in time and space.

All of the above factors provide broad market prospects for pre-prepared meals.

Although the concept of pre-prepared meals first appeared in the United States in the mid-20th century and appeared later in my country, it has developed rapidly in less than 20 years. It now basically covers all food fields and the market size will continue to expand in the future.

So, does the nutritional quality of pre-prepared meals really decrease compared to freshly cooked and eaten meals?

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The reason why people are worried is that they think pre-prepared food is not fresh food, lacks the aroma of the wok, and the flavor is different from freshly made food, so they think it is not fresh, unsafe, and unhealthy. In fact, these are all wrong understandings.

It is indeed necessary to pay attention to the safety of food ingredients. After all, safety is the basis of nutrition. The production of pre-prepared meals also has very strict requirements. Fresh ingredients from the place of origin are produced in a standardized manner. Behind each dish, there are thousands of tests and then industrial research and development. In addition, vacuum preservation technology and cold chain technology are used to safely lock in freshness, which ensures the safety and hygiene of the entire chain. From this perspective, there is no problem with safety, and there will be no problem of illegal additions.

Will there be any loss of nutrients? Yes, there will be. This problem exists not only in pre-prepared meals, but also in any processed food. Even with the best freezing or preservation technology, food will lose nutrients over time after processing, but as long as it is handled properly, the loss is almost always minor. Relevant research has also been done abroad, and data show that most of the nutrients in pre-prepared meals can be preserved. Even the freshly cooked dishes we eat in restaurants actually have the problem of nutrient loss during the processing, and the more complicated the cooking method, the more the loss. What's more, the nutrients retained in the food can already meet our needs, so there is no need to worry too much.

What are the benefits of pre-prepared meals for consumers? Aren’t freshly prepared meals better?

If conditions permit, eating right after cooking is naturally the best choice. However, if consumers who want to eat better but don’t have time can make delicious food at home even if they are not good at cooking, and save a lot of time, I believe many people will still be happy to accept this choice.

In addition, the catering and takeout industries can speed up meal preparation and reduce restaurant staff costs by using pre-prepared meals, which will naturally result in more returns to consumers, creating a win-win situation for both businesses and consumers.

Some people think that only affordable restaurants use pre-prepared meals, but you are wrong. According to a survey, more than 60% of the dishes in many high-end chain restaurants are also pre-prepared meals. This phenomenon shows that there is no distinction between high and low pre-prepared meals, and they are an option that the catering industry is happy to accept.

in conclusion

The production requirements for pre-prepared meals are very strict, and products that meet standardized production standards are safe. Regarding nutritional quality, whether it is pre-prepared or freshly cooked, some nutrients will be lost, while most of the nutrients in pre-prepared meals can be preserved and can meet the daily needs of the human body.

Author: Zhang Yu

Review | Zhang Na, Associate Researcher, Peking University School of Public Health

Produced by: Science Popularization Department of China Association for Science and Technology

Producer｜China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongke Xinghe Culture Media Co., Ltd.

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