Food Protection Trends - November/December 2022 - 564

GENERAL INTEREST PAPER
Meal-Kit Use in the United Kingdom:
Implications for Food Safety
Naomi J. Melville,* Elizabeth C. Redmond, Joseph E. B. Baldwin, and Ellen W. Evans
ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Western Avenue, Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales CF5 2YB, UK
SUMMARY
Meal-kit delivery services provide consumers with
measured ingredients and step-by-step recipe guidance for
the preparation of meals in a domestic setting. Subscriptions
to companies that provide meal-kit delivery services
have grown over the last decade, with the market value
forecast to continue. During this period, a substantial
increase in the popularity of domestic cooking has been
reported, particularly preparing and cooking food using raw
ingredients. Furthermore, during the COVID-19 pandemic,
subscriptions to meal-kit delivery services increased
considerably. This trend is expected to be maintained, with
consumers opting for the convenience of home-delivery
options that provide healthier, more diverse, and interesting
recipes with less food waste. The domestic kitchen is
recognized as a key location for acquiring foodborne illness
without implementation of recommended food safety and
handling practices. As meal-kit delivery services enable
consumers to prepare and cook food at home using raw
ingredients, there are possible implications associated with
food safety and potentially increased risks of foodborne
illness. Given the association of the domestic kitchen with
the sporadic incidence of foodborne illness, this current
consumer trend presents unique food safety challenges. The
aim of the article is to investigate the potential food safety
implications associated with increasing meal-kit use in the
United Kingdom and provide recommendations for future
research in relation to consumer engagement with meal-kits
and meal-kit recipe cards.
OVERVIEW
Online food delivery market
Online ordering of food and groceries has increased in
popularity in recent years (3, 37, 54). The sector comprises
of two distinct categories: ready-to-eat (RTE) food delivery
services, which requires no further preparation of food by the
consumer, and not-ready-to-eat (NRTE) meal-kit delivery
services, which require further preparation of ingredients by
the consumer.
RTE food delivery services can be used by consumers to
order RTE meals from chains and independent restaurants.
In the United Kingdom, platform aggregation services,
including Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat, collect menus
from different restaurants, and RTE meals can be ordered
564 Food Protection Trends November/December
via the service providers' websites or mobile applications.
Subsequently, self-employed couriers pick up the RTE
meals from the restaurant and deliver them directly to the
consumer by either car or bike (9, 32, 37, 56).
NRTE meal-kit delivery services can be distinguished from
RTE food delivery services as meal-kits can include raw food
ingredients that require storage, preparation, and cooking for
some or all components by the consumer. Meal-kits provide
fresh ingredients that are measured, appropriately wrapped,
packaged, and placed in a branded cardboard delivery box
with ice packs, if applicable (8, 29), because NRTE mealkits
frequently include perishable foods that require chilled
storage during transportation and at home by the consumer.
Some providers only supply ingredient kits, such as cooking
pastes, spice blends, and sauces, which are accompanied by
a list of fresh ingredients that consumers must obtain from a
supermarket (30).
Providers can offer meal-kits via subscription or on
demand (14, 30). Because NRTE foods require further
processing upon receipt by the consumer, foods can be sent
through mail order (Fig. 1). According to UK legislative
requirements, distance selling operations of RTE foods are
allowed, but such foods are subject to stricter regulations
relating to temperature control because of the risk of
bacterial growth (14). In contrast, for the selling of NRTE,
consumers can order directly from a meal-kit provider's
website, where provisions such as menu items (recipes),
frequency of delivery, and serving sizes can be tailored to the
consumers' preference (29, 30). The selected meals ordered
from the provider's website are accompanied by recipe cards
that include information on recipe preparation, nutritional
information, and what kitchen utilities to use (27, 29).
Meal kits are known by many alternative names; trending
names include recipe boxes, meal boxes, meal delivery services,
food box subscriptions, and meal box delivery (30, 49). For
this general interest article, we refer to these as meal-kits.
Meal-kit appeal
Market data have established that there is wide availability
within the growing UK market for purchasing meal-kits and
that UK consumers use meal-kit services (54). Consumers
perceive that when cooking every day, particularly after work,
the meal should be easy to prepare, require minimal time
and effort, and be a healthier option (20). Meal-kit provider
*Author for correspondence. Phone: + 44.0.2920.205836; Fax: + 44.0.2920.416982; Email: nmelville@cardiffmet.ac.uk

https://www.foodprotection.org/files/food-protection-trends/nov-dec-22-Melville.pdf

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