MSP MAGAZINE Issue 48

COVER STORY
Is It Possible to Prepare
Healthy RTE Meals?
is the best way to describe our modern life and we
can see it our eating behaviour. The presence of ready-toeat
meals in our homes is increasing every year due to our
‘Quick’
busy lives. But at the same time, the obesity and overweight, the
diabetes and other non-communicable diseases like cardiovascular
diseases are also growing. The question is: are there any ways
to reconcile the health and the convenience in this busy life?
THIS IS THE CURRENT
SITUATION
On the one side, ready-to-eat meals
(RTE) are characterized by having a
longer shelf-life and being products
already done that facilitates the
life. RTE are often heat processed
products and a single meal is high
in proteins and fats but low in
energy and carbohydrates.
On the other hand, people don’t have
enough time to cook proper meals
because their daily lives are full of
tasks and deadlines. However, they
want to eat home-made tasty meal.
They know about health issues
relating to nutrition and physical
activity and there is an increasing
consumers’ demand on sustainable,
safer and healthier products.
In response to this demand, the
food industry has focused on
developing RTE meals. In 2019,
global revenue from ready-to-eat
meals was $ 98.12 billion and
in 2024, the global revenue is
expected to reach $ 122.95 billion.
According to a recent study by
Future Market, the meat/poultry
product type segment within RTE
is estimated to be valued at $44.54
billion in 2016 and is likely to expand
at a CAGR of 7.7% over 2026.
36 | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 | MSP Magazine