The Max Rubner Institute (MRI) published the results of the 2021 product monitoring survey as part of the National Reduction and Innovation Strategy for Sugar, Fats, and Salt in Finished Products (NRI). According to a dti (German Frozen Food Institute) statement, the 2021 survey included 785 frozen ready meals. It was found that between 2016 and 2021 there was a reduction in the average content of energy (-4.6%), saturated fatty acids (-9.7%) and salt (-5.9%) in frozen ready meals. The median salt content is below 1.00 g/100 g product for the majority of the product subgroups of frozen ready meals. Overall, products with a very high salt content have little market relevance.
“Frozen ready meals make an important contribution to healthy, natural nutrition. Thanks to the gentle preservation provided by shock freezing, the products come out of the cold without high levels of salt and preservatives. Manufacturers began reducing salt several years ago. It is done in small steps so that consumers slowly get used to a different sensory system. The results for ready meals clearly show that the industry is on a successful path to offering customers nutritionally optimized products,” Dr. Sabine Eichner of dti commented on the results. Customers are also assisted in product selection by the Nutri-Score, which the frozen industry has been an early adopter of and can already be found on the packaging of many brands and private labels in the frozen department.
“The strategy of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture pursues the goal of reducing the content of sugar, fat and salt in finished products in order to make a contribution to combating obesity and the diseases that result from it. The German Frozen Food Institute dti is already supporting the national strategy with an industry contribution to salt reduction in frozen pizza, which envisages further salt reduction with the aim of achieving an average salt content of 1.25 g/100 g across the entire frozen pizza range by the end of 2025. Here, too, the MRI has already established that the industry is on the right track. The dti is confident that the industry will successfully continue on the path it has taken and will reach the promised target by 2025,” the statement reads.