Every batch is measured before it's packed
Stock Up cooks and freeze-dries its meals, rations and sweets in San Luis de Sabinillas, Manilva (Málaga), on the Costa del Sol. Every recipe follows the same five steps.
The standard every batch meets
- Water activity at 0.60 or below, measured on every batch.
- A best-before date on every pouch: 36 months for Meals and Rations, 12 for Sweets.
- A lot number on every pouch, traced to its batch record.
The same five steps for every batch
Five steps to a sealed pouch
- 015 recipes
Cook
Each recipe is cooked as a whole dish before it's frozen. Sweets aren't cooked; they arrive ready-made and start at step two.
- 02< −30 °C
Freeze
The cooked food is spread in a thin, even layer and frozen below −30 °C, so its water is held as ice.
- 0324–36 h
Dry under vacuum
Under vacuum and a little heat, the ice turns to vapour without melting. Cooked meals take 24 to 36 hours; sweets take a few.
- 04aw ≤ 0.60
Measure
Water activity is measured on every batch. At 0.60 or below, the microorganisms that spoil food can't grow, and a batch that reads higher isn't packed.
- 0536 months
Pack
Metallised zip pouch, oxygen absorber and heat seal. The lot number and best-before date are printed on the base.
Batch record
aw ≤ 0.60A batch is packed only when its water activity measures 0.60 or below.
On every pouch
- Sweets carry Stock Up's own names, such as Sour Keys and Peach Rings.
- The best-before date on the base: 36 months from packing for Meals and Rations, 12 for Sweets.
- kcal, protein and grams on the front.
- The full ingredient list on the back, with allergens in bold.
The meals
Every recipe comes in a 110 g Meals pouch for the desk and a 120 g Rations pouch for the hill.