Microbiology of ready-to-eat foods

Ready-to-eat (RTE) foods are those food products that have gone through some kind of processing and can be consumed without undergoing any further bactericidal treatment such as thorough heating. These foods do not require further preparation prior to consumption, except washing, thawing, or moderate reheating (Farber and Harwig, 1996). As the name implies, RTE foods can be readily consumed without further preparation or processing and thus are extremely convenient for present-day, busy consumers. Surveys of consumer purchase behaviors show an increasing trend in the consumption of RTE foods (Anonymous, 2001, 2003). Hence, the demand for these products from the food industry is huge. Ready-to-eat sandwiches account for 32% of sales from vending machines and include a large share of a multibillion-dollar annual business in the United States (Anonymous, 2001). Supermarkets and convenience stores carry a large selection and variety of RTE food products.