The fruit and vegetable ingredients supplier will start production on a puree concentrate line at its Tomaszów plant in Poland next year, it announced at trade show Food Ingredients Europe in Paris today.
The line will allow SVZ to expand its vegetable range of puree concentrate, including popular nutrition-rich beverage ingredients such as spinach, carrot and kale.
Dejan Trifunovic, business intelligence manager at SVZ, told BeverageDaily that while SVZ has traditionally been considered as a fruit ingredient supplier, its vegetable portfolio now has the same share.
Green, nutritionally rich vegetables
The installation of the line will add vegetable processing capacity, boost ingredient quality and improve environmental credentials, says SVZ.
It features evaporation technology which can process raw materials at low temperatures, meaning that vegetable and fruit puree concentrates are altered as little as possible.
Trifunovic said are customers are looking for ingredients that retain natural characteristics.
“Our customers increasingly look for minimally processed ingredients, and our puree concentrate line will provide that,” he said. “Gentle processing delivers puree concentrates that are as nutritionally close as possible to their fresh form, to ensure a natural, label friendly ingredient.”
The line has been built on site at a SVZ growing region, and Trifunovic says that processing crops at the point of harvest helps optimise colour, flavour, and nutritional content.
“We will be able to produce essentially any fruit or vegetable puree concentrate on the new line,” he continued.
“It will allow us to expand our vegetable range of puree concentrate to include carrot, pumpkin and courgette as well as popular greens like spinach and kale. SVZ’s fruit ingredient range includes strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, blackcurrant, redcurrant, sour cherry and plum.
“We are seeing beverage manufacturers show particular interest in green nutritional rich vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, lettuce and kale, as well as rhubarb, carrot and red beet.”
2016 launch
Puree concentrate from the line can be used in beverages including juices, smoothies and dairy drinks. In the dairy sector the product can be used in yogurt and ice cream. Baked goods such as cookies, cakes, tarts and cereal bars are also suited to the ingredient, as are confectionery and fruit preparations.
The line will be ready for the 2016 harvest season, serving both European and global customers in the beverage and food industry.
“Beverage manufacturers are driving the demand for vegetable ingredients, which represent the ideal solution for lower sugar beverages with added nutritional benefits,” said Trifunovic.
“Asian developed markets have led the way for years and we’ve seen demand from US and European customers increase in the past two years. We expect this growth to pick up pace as the consumer appetite for vegetable based products increases."
Baby food and soup products are also key applications for vegetable ingredients, said Trifunovic, another aspect that has contributed to the expansion of the vegetable business.
"SVZ has traditionally been seen as a leading fruit ingredient supplier, but our vegetable portfolio now has the same share,” he added.
Food Ingredients Europe is on in Paris this week from December 1 – 3. The event showcases ingredients and innovations in food and natural ingredients, packaging and processing.