New labs and opportunities for NatureSeal in Europe

NatureSeal announced expansion of its European research capabilities after opening new R&D labs and NPD facilities for AgriCoat Natureseal Ltd at the company’s facility in West Berkshire, England. Designed and installed with the help of the team from Kastner Laboratory furniture, the new space will play a key role in speeding the company’s product development; bringing to market the next generation of products for maintaining quality in fresh cut fruits and vegetables. Simon Matthews, General Manager for AgriCoat NatureSeal, explained that the company is driven by innovation and the goal of constant improvement. Only this year AgriCoat gained BRC-7 accreditation for its UK operation. Matthews explained that “These values are in our DNA. NatureSeal was spawned from a Research Co-operation with the USDA, and rapidly became the enabling technology for long shelf life in fresh cut fruits and vegetables. To this day this “open research programme” has continued with on-going collaborations with the USDA. The most recent example of this was the First Step Plus 10 decontaminant produce wash now being commercialised in the US. In the UK and in Europe we have always had the benefit of the support of our highly qualified team of scientists at NatureSeal Inc’s 10,000 square ft. state-of-the-art laboratory in Lincoln, Rhode Island, but in comparison our capabilities closer to home have been historically more limited.” Notwithstanding these limitations, product development in UK has been remarkably productive. Recent innovations that have been commercialised in UK include the formulation, NatureSeal BA-1 now enabling fresh cut banana to feature in snack fruit pots. Other products developed in the UK lab include treatments for sugar cane, avocado and guacamole. AgriCoat’s scientists are currently working to address some of the challenges presented by spiralised vegetables and trials are on-going with lettuce and various brassicas. Other projects are in train with specific customers and are by their nature be-spoke or confidential. It is clear that whilst the requirement for quality and safety is consistent, there are differing demands and expectations across our customers and in turn their own consumers in Europe compared with North America. In UK some processors are working with product mixes offering just 3 – 5 days’ shelf life, whilst in the US customers may demand at least 10 days. Although the UK team’s pipeline has been quite productive this new exciting development significantly enhances our capabilities and the technical support that we can afford our clients. AgriCoat is confident that NatureSeal will remain as an industry leader and welcomes challenges from customers to help them deliver their NPD goals. For more information:Simon MatthewsAgriCoat NatureSeal LtdTel: +44 (0) 1488 648988Email: Simon.Matthews@agricoat.co.ukwww.natureseal.com