ShareFrozen fruit in perfect condition for up to three years
A new technology allows, for the first time, to freeze fruit for three years while keeping its nutrients and properties at optimal levels.
Nice Fruit, a Catalan company, promises to revolutionize the food market. Its technology allows, for the first time, to freeze fruit for three years while keeping its nutrients and properties at optimal levels. By means of an air-based treatment, the company has managed to obtain a frozen product with all the qualities of fresh produce, according to its president, José María Roger.
In July 2012, they created an industrial machine able to freeze 300 kilos of fruit per hour without destroying its molecular structure
Nice Fruit has promised radical changes in food consumption habits. Until now, the fruit market has always worked in the same way: the produce is harvested while still green so as to arrive to consumers in perfect condition. By doing so, "50% of the vitamins, nutrients and sugars are lost, which is why we often purchase fruit that looks good, but has a very poor flavour," explains Roger. Nice Fruit is putting an end to this procedure.
With this technology, it is possible to wait until the fruit has 90% of its nutrients, after which it is taken to the processing plant, which is why it should be located nearby the plantation. Once there, the fruit undergoes an air-based treatment, which is the basis for this new, patented technology.
Afterwards, the fruit is frozen and can be kept "immortalised" for up to three years. Within that period, if the fruit is defrosted "it will have the same flavour as a freshly harvested piece. For the first time, we have managed to obtain a frozen product that surpasses fresh fruit in terms of quality and flavour."
The advantages of Nice Fruit's system have not gone unnoticed. The company has already delivered two hundred containers of fruit for camps in the Arctic, a region with roads open only for 45 days per year. "For the first time in history, the Arctic's inhabitants will be able to eat fresh fruit every day of the year," points out Roger. Denmark has done the same for Greenland.
It is the same case with Norway's oil rigs, where ships can take weeks to arrive due to the weather conditions, or with excessively hot climates, such as the desert, "where a kilo of pineapples can cost up to 15 Euro." Nice Fruit is already selling its produce to the United Arab Emirates for half the usual price.
In July 2012, they created an industrial machine able to freeze 300 kilos of fruit per hour without destroying its molecular structure
Nice Fruit has promised radical changes in food consumption habits. Until now, the fruit market has always worked in the same way: the produce is harvested while still green so as to arrive to consumers in perfect condition. By doing so, "50% of the vitamins, nutrients and sugars are lost, which is why we often purchase fruit that looks good, but has a very poor flavour," explains Roger. Nice Fruit is putting an end to this procedure.
With this technology, it is possible to wait until the fruit has 90% of its nutrients, after which it is taken to the processing plant, which is why it should be located nearby the plantation. Once there, the fruit undergoes an air-based treatment, which is the basis for this new, patented technology.
Afterwards, the fruit is frozen and can be kept "immortalised" for up to three years. Within that period, if the fruit is defrosted "it will have the same flavour as a freshly harvested piece. For the first time, we have managed to obtain a frozen product that surpasses fresh fruit in terms of quality and flavour."
The advantages of Nice Fruit's system have not gone unnoticed. The company has already delivered two hundred containers of fruit for camps in the Arctic, a region with roads open only for 45 days per year. "For the first time in history, the Arctic's inhabitants will be able to eat fresh fruit every day of the year," points out Roger. Denmark has done the same for Greenland.
It is the same case with Norway's oil rigs, where ships can take weeks to arrive due to the weather conditions, or with excessively hot climates, such as the desert, "where a kilo of pineapples can cost up to 15 Euro." Nice Fruit is already selling its produce to the United Arab Emirates for half the usual price.