Boli Guo

Institute of Food Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Pre-made food is a type of instant food with rapidly expanding speed and diverse consumer needs, which emerged to meet the demands of consumption upgrades, fast-peace life, and changes in diet structure. Among pre-made foods, pre-made cereal product is one of the major categories which are convenient, ready-to-eat, and nutritious staple products, produced mainly by cereal ingredients.

The growth of the economy and improvements in people's living standards have led to increased purchasing power and further market expansion. Meanwhile, the fast-paced life has led to a rapid increase in people’s demand for fresh, convenient, nutritious, and healthy food products. New formats and models such as catering, food delivery, convenience stores, e-commerce, and others have provided new marketing channels and consumption scenarios for the development of pre-made flour products. Besides, the rapid development of the cold chain logistics system has also provided support for the development of the pre-made cereal products industry. All these factors have created significant market potential for the industry of pre-made cereal products.

The characteristics of pre-made cereal products include convenience, ready-to-eat nature, long-distance transportation, and a unique production process involving prefabrication and reheating. The key challenges in the industry include microbial contamination, nutrient loss, changes in color, flavor, and texture, and other quality deterioration issues. Therefore, the focus of the production of pre-made flour products is to extend shelf life and improve quality retention and reconstitutability.

The key production technologies for pre-made cereal products include frozen dough technology, pre-cooking control technology, as well as sterilization and decontamination technology. In the current report, the research progress and latest achievements in these key technologies were introduced, aiming to provide scientific and technological support for the development of the pre-made cereal products industry.