AgriCoat: growing with our customers

Postharvest, poscosecha, IV gama, mínimamente processado, ready to eat, minimally processed, fresh cut  AgriCoat NatureSeal exhibits in Fruit Logistica 2013, Hall 8.2/B-01 Maintaining product quality throughout shelf-life is one of the greatest challenges for the fresh convenience sector. AgriCoat NatureSeal, a division of the American corporation Mantrose Haeuser, has a long history of meeting such challenges in a range of food, pharmaceutical and agricultural sectors. As the fresh cut fruit category began to develop, NatureSeal products quickly became established as the leading technology for maintaining shelf life in sliced apples in particular and arguably became recognised as the enabling technology for an entire sector of fresh cut fruits used in food service, retail and QSR outlets across the World. The NatureSeal products have their origin in a joint research project with the US Department of Agriculture and this yielded the first product that was effective in controlling enzymatic browning, keeping a crisp bite and limiting purge, without imparting any flavour taints. Based on vitamin and mineral blends, NatureSeal products are approved for use throughout Europe and are relied upon by processors across the continent and beyond. The blend of vitamins and minerals that make up NatureSeal are patented and the IP is held jointly with the USDA.  In general we find that vitamin and mineral blends that lie outside the patented range are either ineffective or impart an acidic or unnatural taste. NatureSeal products do not contain sulphites, allergens or GM material. AgriCoat is now able to offer even greater support in key markets with employees now based permanently in The Benelux and in Southern Spain. Hugh Douglas, having relocated to Andalucía and moving on from NPD into a commercial role, is now well placed to assist our clients throughout the Mediterranean region.R&D remains one of the key drivers of new business and the company recently recruited an additional food scientist to work out of its UK laboratory.  Apostolos Asimomytis, a graduate from Reading University, has now joined Agricoat’s NPD team.  Apostolos’s skill set is helping to broaden the support we are able to offer our customers and he has already assisted two new customers with their new product launches in UK. AgriCoat understands that to achieve best quality all aspects of the process must be considered; from the quality of the raw materials, the processing machinery, through to product handling, packaging and perhaps above all the integrity of the cool chain. NatureSeal is just part of the process and our approach has always been one of open innovation and collaboration with leading suppliers including fruit importers, and manufactures of processing and washing equipment. AgriCoat also recognises that different produce present their own unique challenges, whether it is browning in apple and pear slice, whitening in beetroot or silvering, bending and cracking in peeled carrots. For this reason more than a dozen different NatureSeal blends are used on almost 50 different types of produce. Certain of the NatureSeal blends are approved for use in organic produce and this complements well the “First Step” or NatureSeal FS products. First Step products are supplied as liquid concentrates which are based on special organic acid blends and are used to wash and decontaminate produce before processing. NatureSeal’s “First step” is permitted in organic production but is also used widely where ever there is a desire to substitute chlorine washes. NatureSeal has proven to be the right product at the right time, enabling our customers to meet consumer concerns. The obesity epidemic may now be old news in USA but the issue has not gone away and is of increasing concern in other markets such as UK and Europe.  A 2012 report by the Dutch Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory (FAR) group commented that the stand-alone marketing of a "healthy benefit" to mainstream consumers isn't enough to increase consumption of fresh vegetables and cites as evidence the overall flat consumption rate of fresh vegetables in recent years. The report recommends that produce firms put more emphasis on creating value-added products that are not only healthy, but easy to prepare. Once again NatureSeal is a technology which enables processors to meet both challenges; healthy convenience providing consumers with the best of both worlds: the healthfulness of fresh vegetables and the convenience of processed foods.