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JAN- FEB 2018 www. foodbizasia. com
25 April 2018
JR Group dispenses delectable treats from vending machines
Jocelyn Chng( right), CEO of JR Group, who will be doing a presentation entitled“ Food and Technology Innovations in Ready Meals from Vending Machines” as part of the Food Product Development Technology & Innovation Forum, gives her take on the current state of affairs in the ready-meal market.
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CAN you give us an update and growth forecast for the ready-meal market in Singa pore and beyond? Jocelyn Chng: According to 2017 market survey reports, there has been retail value growth and retail volume growth for ready meals in Singapore. It is also noticeable that the variety of ready meals, especially for chilled and frozen, has been increasing in quantity, as well as sophistication.
Frozen ready meals were reported to be the fastest-growing ready meals category in Singapore last year. JR Group was honoured to be told that at least one reputable market report attributed this growth to the entrance of JR Group’ s Chef-In-Box ready meals.
Besides retailing in stores and online, ready meals are also available in vending machines. A recent Channel NewsAsia feature reported that vending machine sales in Singapore are projected to increase by 18 % by year 2020.
Chef-In-Box Vendcafés have received much global attention and interest in our ready meals and retail concept; we foresee such growth for the ready-meal market to continue for the coming years in Singapore and beyond.
What is the current shelf life of your hot food vending machines, and what is the secret to preserving the good taste of these offerings? Chng: Our current shelf life for frozen, ready-to-eat( RTE) meals is dated for six months, even though our lab tests have determined that the actual shelf life is between nine and 12 months.
The secret to preserving the taste and quality of the meals lies in our cook-freeze technology. Each meal is freshly prepared by chefs in our central kitchen, and immediately after cooking, the meals are blastfrozen to the optimum state, which locks in the goodness in flavours and nutrition of the meal.
Another key factor is to ensure only quality ingredients go into crafting every meal. Our Chef-in-Box vending machines are also smart machines that will customise the heating requirements of each different meal variety to the optimal setting determined by our R & D team for each meal, to ensure that the taste of the meal is not compromised in the heating process.
How do you convince sceptical consumers of the safety of ready meals? Chng: It may take a bit of time and education to change the mind-sets of sceptical consumers, but it actually does not take much to realise that ready meals are in fact safer than many would expect.
With ready meals produced in central kitchens, there often are strict production guidelines to adhere to. There will be records and traceability, from carefully curated ingredient suppliers to production, packing, storage and transportation. There may also be audits done internally and by major clients to ensure food safety is met to high expectations. An added bonus is that ready meals will be properly and thoroughly labelled, so consumers know exactly what they are eating.
At JR Group, we always go to great lengths to ensure that food-safety and hygiene are our top priorities. There are stringent quality assurance( QA) and food safety procedures and audits in place at every stage, from selecting ingredient suppliers to cooking, packaging, delivery and finally dispensing the meals into the hands of the consumers. There is traceability and accountability every step of the way.
Each Chef-in-Box meal is carefully prepared in our AVA, HACCP and ISO22000- certified central kitchen. Immediately after cooking, the meals are blast-frozen to the optimum state, which prevents bacteria growth. Our supply chain, from kitchen to retail, is closely monitored by temperature tagging and logging systems to ensure that the cold chain is never broken.
Food safety is further ensured within the Chef-In-Box smart vending machine itself. Chef-In-Box automatically shuts down if its storage temperature falls out of the safe range. It will also not sell any item that is too near its best-before date by automatically removing it from its menu list. All measures are in place to ensure that every Chef-In- Box meal is, without a doubt, a safe and quality meal.
For ready meals sold through vending machines in Singapore, vendors are guided by TR 57: 2017 Guidelines on Food Safety and Good Hygiene Practices for Vending Industry. This Technical Reference( TR) covers the hygiene guidelines for operations that involve the supply and replenishment of food and related accessories, design, installation and maintenance of vending machine that enables compliance with regulatory requirements.
n Presentations under the Food Product Development Technology & Innovation Forum is scheduled on Thursday, April 26, at Singapore Expo, Max Atria, Level 2. foodbiz asia Business never tasted so good FOOD AND DRINKS TRENDS TO WATCH FOR IN 2018 Jan- Feb 2018
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