Prepared Foods

When you consider how much we do in a single day – attending work, school, or other appointments, running errands, or meeting friends and family for social activities – finding time to prepare a complete meal from scratch on a daily basis can be a challenge. As a result, prepared foods such as frozen meals, snack packs, and others, are a popular food category that helps us continue with our busy lives.

Consumers expect their prepared foods to be consistent from meal-to-meal, from the raw ingredients to the overall appearance of the final product. With the help of analysis technologies from KPM Analytics – either at-line or integrated into the manufacturing process – many of these quality variables can be measured and controlled to meet consumer expectations.

·      Control of Moisture, Oil, Fat, Protein, and other Important Parameters: Whether for analyzing incoming ingredients, quality control of the mixing or cooking process, or for verifying the final prepared product, KPM Analytics offers a variety of near infrared (NIR) instrumentation that can apply virtually anywhere in the production process. These technologies have a long history of providing quality data for baked goods, processed meat and cheese, fruits and vegetables, and several other products commonly used in prepared foods.

·      Visual Inspection of Final Product: Manual observation of prepared foods – such as assessing the shape, color, or toppings of a product passing through the production line – is a laborious process that is also susceptible to human error. Incorporating vision inspection technologies from KPM Analytics, which utilize high-speed cameras and advanced algorithms, can help companies achieve a higher level of consistency of their outgoing prepared foods, while also reducing labor costs.

Quality assurance technologies such as these help food processing companies ensure a positive consumer experience, leading to better production efficiency, less waste, and improved brand value.