Which ones are they
New range is a food classification.
The new range foods are products that are divided according to the degree of PROCESSING; all the treatments useful for the production of new range foods are aimed at promoting their shelf life by reducing their overall perishable nature.
- First range
- Second range
- Third range
- Fourth range
- Fifth range
Let's see them in more detail ...
First Range
- Top-of-the-range foods: all products that are top-of-the-range They have NOT undergone any processing, man-made artifice or treatment; in short, top-of-the-range foods they are FRESH and in no way preserved. The category includes, for example, fresh vegetables that receive little or no conditioning activity: refrigeration and / or modified atmosphere. They can be placed on the market immediately upon harvest, or after reduced storage. The maintenance of the initial qualitative characteristics derives from this, but they are subject to strong perishability.
Second Range
- Second range foods: all products that are second range are second range foods have been subjected to THERMAL STABILIZATION with HEAT, such as PASTEURIZATION and STERILIZATION, or are preserved by adding NATUAL CHEMICAL ADDITIVES: IN OIL, VINEGAR, etc. For example, fruit and vegetables commonly known as preserved and semi-preserved belong to this category. it is long, in the order of months, if not even years, but they lose most of their nutritional properties, especially the vitamin content.
Third Range
- IIIa range foods: the products that are listed are third range foods have undergone heat treatment with COLD BELOW ZERO (<0 ° C); Simplifying, FROZEN and FROZEN products are III range foods. Thanks to the rapid freezing (deep freezing) the storage time is on average long and is associated with a reduced alteration of the initial organoleptic and nutritional quality.
Fourth Range
- Fresh-cut foods: fourth-range foods are the products that THEY HAVE NOT UNDERGO ANY THERMAL TREATMENT (neither heat nor cold) BUT they are CLEAN, CUT and PACKAGED in ready-to-eat trays; NB. Fresh-cut foods can be stored FOR A LIMITED PERIOD OF TIME and only after REFRIGERATION. Examples are fresh fruit and vegetables that are washed, cut, packaged in bags or trays, made of plastic or plastic film, so as to be ready for consumption. The shelf life is a few days, as long as the maintenance of a temperature is guaranteed that continuously settles (on average) between 0 and 4 ° C during the whole post-harvest phase: from processing, to transport, to storage. The "minimum processing" to which the fresh-cut products are subjected differ from this general principle because in many cases they tend to stress perishability, for example the cutting for fragmentation into cylinders, cubes, slices and more. Due to these processes, the product becomes highly perishable and for this reason it must be subjected to transfers supported by various technologies, from bioconservation (use of lactic bacteria) to conservation in a modified atmosphere.
Fifth Range
- High range foods: these are fifth range foods i SEMI-FINISHED, therefore ALL products which have already undergone a COOKING HEAT TREATMENT and are subsequently PACKAGED in VACUUM or MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE; Fifth range foods are usually stored at REFRIGERATION temperatures. Pre-cooked frozen fries are examples of this. Similarly to fresh-cut products, the most salient commercial aspects are the average storage period of 10-16 days and the maintenance of valuable organoleptic characteristics, even if the aroma can be distinct from the freshly cooked product.
