french ready meal producer gendreau group and its subsidiary vif have launched a range of highquality &lsquocountry style&rsquo ready meal items in a thermoformed barrier plastic tray.by pat reynolds, vp editorbarrier thermoformed trays have the appearance of casserole dishes.enlargesupplied by rpc bebo plastik, the tray is in the style of a casserole dish. the casserole meals will be sold under the la cuisine d&rsquoocéane brandthe second largest french ready meal brand in the microwaveable tray sectorfollowing a &euro100,000 investment in the development of the project.to further mimic the look of a casserole dish, the dualcoloured trayswhich are produced from a multilayer ppevohpp structure to give the retorted products an extended ambient shelf life of 12 monthshave been designed with a red exterior and a black interior. the trays have a capacity of 350 g as opposed to the more traditional market standard 300 g to provide a larger familysize portion.the three varieties in the rangecharolais beef and carrots in sauce, montbéliard sausage and vegetable hotpot and aveyron and ségala veal marengohave all been developed to be free from artificial colours and flavours while combining tasty, wholesome flavours. initially launched at the monoprix retail chain, the ready meals are now being distributed to other major supermarket chains. 
