Finally! After months of construction, we have inaugurated our new facilities. The improvements have been made in the clean room of the production plant in Albuixech, which is where we produce the pre-prepared convenience food products, i.e. the peeled and cut fruit that you will find in various supermarkets under two brands: Frutifresh and Peris.
On average, around 200,000 kilos of fruit and vegetables pass through our clean room every month , which are selected, sanitized, peeled and sliced to be served in tubs, a more convenient and quicker consumption format. That is why it is very important that the facilities are up to the level of day-to-day demands.
The renovation work has focused on the construction of a clean room in addition to the existing one, a new fruit and vegetable sanitizing area has been created, as well as a new order preparation and dispatch area. In addition, the cold storage area and personnel facilities have been expanded. This will allow us to expand production capacity, optimize processes and improve efficiency in the consumption of energy resources.
We have also invested in equipment for peeling, slicing and packaging tables, new vacuum packing machines, machinery for fruit and vegetable processing and new equipment for fruit sanitization.
With the work completed, we have already passed one of the many audits to which we are subjected due to our activity in the agri-food sector. This particular one was like… Surprise! That is, without prior notice. The inspectors arrive and do their job, magnifying glass in hand. Well then! In this audit we have not only renewed the IFS Food quality certificate, one of the most demanding, but we have done so with a rating of 98.95%. So imagine how satisfied we are.
And you, do you eat peeled and chopped fruit?
Consumption of peeled and sliced fruit and vegetables is only growing; in fact, our sales increased by 38% from January to September 2022, compared to the same period last year.
In the first nine months of the year, we have peeled and sliced 1.6 million fruit– that’s nothing. These formats are very convenient, especially when you have to eat away from home and want to have a healthy and convenient food at hand. They also make your life much easier when it comes to fruits that are a little more complicated to peel and cut up, such as pineapple ,
pomegranate
or coconut.
Among the most consumed fresh-cut products are pineapple in different formats (slices, spears and chunks), carrot sticks, pomegranate, mango, coconut and different presentations of melon and watermelon, in halves, quarters and chunks.
With these formats we promote a higher consumption of fruit. In fact, according to our analysis
fruit consumption increases by an average of 40% if it is peeled and sliced.
Pre-prepared convenience food contributes to sustainability
Another aspect that seems to us to be very relevant to our work in pre-prepared convenience food with fruits and vegetables is the reduction of food waste.
On the one hand, our technicians are experts in peeling and slicing fruit, which generates less waste than we usually generate at home. This means that there is a better utilization of the food.
On the other hand, in the pre-prepared convenience food range, we sell fruits that, while maintaining their organoleptic qualities, have a non-standardized appearance that can generate rejection in the consumer, the so-called “ugly fruits”.
When taken to the fresh cut range, the shape no longer matters, as they become delicious pieces of fruit, as their quality remains exceptional. However, possibly, they would be discarded to be sold in any greengrocer’s shop since their morphology is not the norm.
And what do we do with the vegetable waste we generate? That is, with the skins and leftovers from the fruits and vegetables we remove. We take them to local livestock farms to serve as food for the animals, such as Margarita the cow, who claps her hands every time we arrive with a new shipment. A true example of circular economy.
When you enjoy one of our Frutifresh or Peris tubs of cut fruit, we will be happy if you remember everything that goes on behind the scenes: the clean room, the technicians who select the best pieces, the ones who peel and cut them. And even Margarita, the cow. They all contribute to the enjoyment of your delicious cut fruit.