8 International Meat Topics — Volume 5 Number 5

by Christina Frohm Kramer, Marketing,Micvac, Flöjelbergsgatan 10, SE-431 37Mölndal, Sweden.

Grön Ko (Green cow) is a Swedishfamily owned company. The familyruns an ecological cattle farm as well

as a shop and restaurant where they sellfarm products and other local products. Asthey mostly sell pieces like fillet and othermore expensive parts, they started to thinkabout what could be done with the rest ofthe meat. The solution was to develop their own

recipes for meat dishes that required a lot ofwork and time to offer stressed families agood and healthy meal without them havingto do it themselves. Very soon, they realisedthat the shelf-life they achieved was tooshort and it was difficult to get an efficientproduction. They investigated how theycould achieve the same good qualitytogether with a natural concept and a longershelf-life. The solution was the Micvacmethod.

One continuous process

The Micvac method means in-pack cookingand pasteurisation. It includes the use of amicrowave tunnel and packaging with a re-closable valve. It is a smooth and modern production

method in one continuous process. Theingredients are filled into a tray (or bag),sealed with a film containing a valve andthen transported into a microwave tunnel.The microwave process allows fast cooking

A really intelligent packaging concept for a quality product

The 18m microwave tunnel.

at a high temperature. The result is thatmore vitamins, texture and colour arepreserved no matter the ingredient and allof the flavour stays in the tray. During the pasteurisation process a natural

vacuum is created leaving the tray airtight.This is due to the valve opening, releasingsteam and air during cooking and thenclosing once the microwaves stop givingenergy to the product. The vacuum willkeep the meal fresh for weeks. Most Micvac producers use a 42 day shelf-

life. The vacuum also allows the product tobe displayed upright on the store shelveshence giving it a better exposure. The fact ofhaving a vacuum means that no oxygenremains in the pack and no oxidation andless deterioration of the food take place.Grön Ko uses the Micvac method mostly

for chilled ready meals such as BoeufBourguignon, Curry with rice, Swedish

meatballs with mashed potatoes and othertraditional Swedish meals or more exoticones all containing their ecological meat. To be able to offer a more complete

range, they also produce different types ofsoups, including Goulash and fish soups. Themeals served in the restaurant are the samethat you can buy in their shop. Once Grön Ko had decided to go ahead

with the investment in a Micvac line theystarted looking for the right productionlocation. They found a big dairy plant and

transformed it into a local food centre withtheir own line as well as other smallerproduction units for other companies. Knut Lillienau, owner and managing

director at Grön Ko as well as FoodAmbassador for the Swedish regionVärmland, was really pleased with all thehelp he got from Micvac in planning and

International Meat Topics — Volume 5 Number 5 9

setting up the plant. To be able to use alltheir knowledge regarding production flow,machinery, etc was very valuable for them.Today they are not only selling their meals

in their own shop; they sell to all majorSwedish retail chains. It is a fantasticdevelopment to go from meat productionto food production. Their focus stays thesame; good and nutritious food with greattaste!

Practical and convenient

Chilled ready meals are all aboutconvenience. The Micvac method offersnew features making it even more practicalfor the consumer. The patented tray isdesigned to ensure even heating all the waythrough in production as well as at theconsumer’s. The patented valve will open during

heating in the microwave oven and willwhistle once the meal has achieved theperfect eating temperature. It takes around three minutes. Stirring and

testing of the temperature is no longerneeded. As it is a closed packaging (thevalve will close again), you can heat severalmeals and serve them at the same time. Ifyou do not take off the top film the mealstays warm for approximately 20 minutes.Micvac wants to be an active partner to its

customers. Therefore, Micvac hascompleted marketresearch onconsumerbuying

Due to the valve, the production can bemade without any counter pressure tobalance the pressure created in the packduring cooking. The packaging and process development

go together. It is not only a method, a lot ofknowledge is also necessary in thebehaviour of different plastics. All components in the packaging have to

work together to assure the correctfunctioning of each one on its own as well ascombined. They have to sustain the impactof the cooking procedure as the packagingexpands due to the pressure created insideduring cooking. Then it gets another shapeonce the vacuum is created, so it is really anactive packaging.Today, the latest development is a two

compartment tray only using one valve. Itwas easy to have a solution with two valves,but that was a little too costly forcustomers, so the development has been tobe able to work with only one. Another development is to work with

small and bigger bags for food service forexample. There is a big demand for qualityfood. This intelligent packaging is nowknown worldwide. A whistle and your mealis ready; it can not be much easier! n

behaviour to facilitate a successful launch.According to studies made in Europe, 80%of the consumers would like to buy andrecommend Micvac processed meals. Themain reasons for this are that they taste verygood and they are all natural.The microwave tunnel used in the process

is a specially designed tunnel for chilledready meals. It is built in Sweden and usedby all Micvac customers. The tunnel hasbeen continuously updated and it has a newcontrol system with remote access asstandard, as well as a new buffer and flexibleinfeed system. The heating is optimised to give maximum

repartition of the energy to ensure an evenand stable cooking and pasteurisation.

Module based system

It is module based to enable additionalcapacity if needed. It is energy efficient andcomparable studies between microwaveand retort production made by KINLebensmittelinstitut in Germany showsthat there are major savings in cost andtime to be made if using microwaves. Other studies made by KIN showbetter performances for taste, textureand colours if using a short heattreatment as well.The tray is designed and patented by

Micvac and produced under licence. Thespecial Flextray can control the deformationwhen vacuum and it is made of PP. The film is a laminated peelable PA/PP

film. The valve is made in-house at Micvac,Sweden, and it is the only valve on themarket that can open and close severaltimes.

The Micvac method of in-pack cooking and pasteurisation.