RTE or NRTE Categorisation of Frozen Meals ?

If our company is receiving frozen RTE meats/poultry and IQF vegetables from a supplier but cooking rice to be added to make frozen meals, will the product be considered RTE or NRTE?

Well is it in-fact Ready to eat? Do you require any further cooking step from your customers? Is adding this cooked rice to the RTE frozen meats/poultry causing any food safety hazard that would require a further kill step?

Hi arangel,

Did you mean to type "cooked rice" instead of "cooking rice"?

if all three properties are indeed cooked / prepped and RTE, then yes it would be classified as that.

The rice is purchased raw then cooked in the facility frozen then added to the frozen meal packaged and put into cooler for shipping.

Thanks

so you guys have like a meal kit? Where everything is already RTE except rice which you cook and ready to eat then. I would imagine it is still considered RTE since in addition to the other RTE foods, you also put RTE rice. 

Yes, everything stays under control for temperature. I forgot to mention one more component IQF vegetables. Would this make the meal NRTE or the blanching process keep it RTE?

Yes, everything stays under control for temperature. I forgot to mention one more component IQF vegetables. Would this make the meal NRTE or the blanching process keep it RTE?

 

So does the the vegetable component(s?) specification contain a declaration of RTE ?

 

It sounds like this product will be marketed under the jurisdiction of USDA. IIRC, the latter organisation (unlike FDA) have detailed, well-defined, Regulatory requirements regarding labelling of RTE and NRTE items (eg instructions such as need to be cooked ...etc). You may need to obtain their approval for the label.