RTC Non Veg Snacks
With the growing working women population, the demand for Ready-to-Cook (RTC) foods has also been growing. Time saving and convenience are the two most sought benefits from RTC segment. In a study conducted by Velocity MR this year, it was observed most respondents preferred consuming RTC foods in the form of snacks. The study also concluded that chicken nuggets were the most preferred non-vegetarian snack.
Why RTC Snacks?
01.Growing working women population
02. Increasing disposable income
03. Reduces cooking time
Ready-to-Cook Chicken Nuggets
Chicken nuggets are almost everywhere, in almost every fast food chain and every supermarket freezer. Fried, crunchy and quickly made, they are in high demand, ranging from busy adults with no time to cook to children who adore fast food.
Equipment
The basic equipment needed to start the production process include automatic meat grinders, vacuum tumblers, trolleys for transportation, meat shaping machines, flour and frying powder coating machines, frying machines and a quick freeze machine.
Next, the nuggets have to be packaged and transferred to markets, for which a packaging machine, a printer and a labeling machine, plus a refrigerator and freezer trucks are required.
Manufacturing
Whatever meat is going to be used, there are several steps to prepare it for production. The first stage is the overall preparation of fresh or frozen meat, which entails skinning the meat, cutting it up, deboning it, washing it and then putting it in the meat grinder.
Next comes the processing and shaping stage, which involves mixing ingredients, seasonings and other permissible additives with the meat and shaping them in different forms and sizes.
“Chicken nuggets are perishable and need to have a health and safety code. Therefore, it is mandatory to establish a small lab to determine the product’s food standards that control its protein, fat, salt and carbohydrate levels.”
Here are the basic steps involved in manufacturing of RTC Shrimps:
Then, they are coated with flour and frying powder before undergoing the frying process. When completely fried, they are quickly frozen, laminated and packed in cardboard boxes used specifically for food products.
Ready-to-Cook Shrimps
In India, shrimps are traditionally sun dried and/or heavily salted to preserve them at ambient temperature. Such products are however susceptible to spoilage by mold and are inferior in quality due to loss of color, texture and flavor.
Therefore, there is a need to develop shelf-stable and microbiologically safe products that will be of great economic and health significance.
Popular RTC Non-Vegetarian Snacks
Apart from chicken nuggets and shrimps, here’s a list of some of commonly available RTC snacks available in Indian market:
- RTC Chicken Sausages
- RTC Chicken Frankfurters
- RTC Mutton Nuggets
- RTC Cocktail Fish Fingers
- RTC Fish Fingers
- RTC Chicken Garlic Fingers