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Companies producing ready‐to‐eat (RTE) meals are looking for processing alternatives that allow them to gain presence in the supermarket chill section. Microwave‐assisted pasteurization systems (MAPS) offer the potential to produce safe, high‐quality foods. This research examined sensory, physical, chemical, and microbial changes in fried rice processed with MAPS and stored at 7 °C over a 6‐week storage period. Additional fried rice samples (cooked but not MAPS‐processed) were stored at –31 °C and were used as the control. Randomly selected trays of each type of rice were analyzed at 1, 4, and 6 weeks of storage. Aroma, appearance, taste/flavor, texture, mouthfeel, and aftertaste were evaluated by a semitrained sensory panel with rate‐all‐that‐apply questions. The type of rice treatment (MAPS or control) significantly influenced sensory attributes (P < 0.05), with firm texture attribute of the egg being more intense in the MAPS‐rice compared to the control. In addition, storage time affected the sensory modalities of both rice samples, including aroma, appearance, and taste/flavor (P < 0.05). No spoilage‐associated sensory attributes were detected in the MAPS‐rice during storage. At each examination point, various physical, chemical, and microbial analyses were conducted for the MAPS‐ and control rice. From the physical and chemical perspective, the MAPS‐rice did not present relevant changes over the period tested. Microbial growth was the main cause of spoilage of the MAPS‐rice; however, MAPS was able to extend the regular 5‐day shelf life of a chilled fried rice meal to 6 weeks, demonstrating the potential of this technology for the RTE industry. Practical Application The findings of this study indicate that, by applying microwave technology to RTE fried rice, the shelf life can be extended from 5 to 7 days up to 42 days (6 weeks) when stored at 7 °C. This temperature closely mimics that of consumers’ refrigerators in the United States. This study also shows the potential of working with a semitrained panel and RATA questions when characterizing sensory changes during storage.

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A home-use test (HUT) is one method that provides a measure of ecological validity as the product is consumed in home under common daily use circumstances. One product that benefits from being evaluated in-home are ready-to-eat (RTE) meals. This study determined consumer acceptance of microwave-thermally-pasteurized jambalaya, a multi-meat and vegetable dish from American Cajun cuisine, and a control (cooked frozen jambalaya) through an on-line home-use test (HUT) over a 12-week storage period. Paralleling the HUT, an online auction determined consumers’ willingness to pay. The study also explored how the social environment may impact the liking of the meals when a partner of the participants joined the sensory evaluation of the meals. Consumers (n = 50) evaluated microwave-processed jambalaya stored at 2 °C and a control (cooked frozen jambalaya stored at −31 °C) after 2, 8 and 12 weeks of storage. Consumer liking of different sensory attributes was measured. Participants could choose to share the meals with a partner as a way to enhance ecological validity. The responses from 21 partners to the sensory-related questions were collected. After the sensory evaluation, the participants bid on the meal they had just sampled. Results showed that processing method (microwave vs. control) did not significantly influence the measured sensory attributes. Only flavor liking decreased over storage time (p < 0.05). The inclusion of partners significantly increased (p = 0.04) the liking of the appearance of the meals. The mean values of the bids for the meals ranged from $3.33–3.74, matching prices of commercially available jambalaya meals. This study found suggests that the shelf- life of microwave-processed meals could be extended up to 12 weeks without changing its overall liking. The study also shows the importance of exploring HUT methodology for the evaluation of consumers’ acceptance of microwave-processed jambalaya and how including a partner could contribute to enhance ecological validity.