Ayrshire food processing firm eyes UK market following German E.coli outbreak
FoodScience Ltd, the Ayrshire?based manufacturer of food processing aids, anticipates a rapid growth in its UK market share in the wake of food safety concerns following the E?coli outbreak in Germany.
Its leading product, Hydromax, is already being used by a growing number of fresh food producers as a safe, non toxic way of decontaminating fruit and vegetables during growing, processing and packaging.
Fresh produce may be naturally contaminated with soil, bacteria and other detritus, which adversely affect the quality and shelf life of the end product. Hydromax is a stabilised solution of Sodium Chlorite which can be used in irrigation and process/wash water to reduce this contamination, including E?coli. It has been developed as a highly effective decontaminant and processing aid, it is safe to use and does not carry over into the food chain.
The current E?coli outbreak in Germany began on 2 May and has claimed 40 lives, with the number of reported cases now sitting at 3,256. Over 800 of those affected have been hospitalised with a serious complication, hemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), which can lead to kidney failure. There are a further 100 reported E?coli cases in other European countries and in the US.
Dr Jim Pickard, Managing Director of FoodScience said; The issue is certainly high on many peoples agenda in the fresh produce industry due to the outbreak in Germany. Weve had a number of calls in the past few weeks from fresh food growers and producers throughout the UK who are aware that they need to find a safe, non toxic way of reducing microbiological risk if they want to avoid the same thing happening here.
Hydromax is applied to the process water using a fully automated dosing machine, AgriMatic, developed in partnership with a specialist engineering company. AgriMatic controls the process and monitors the dosing at every stage to ensure accurate, reproducible dosing of low concentrations of the active component.
After weeks of investigation, German officials have this week confirmed that bean sprouts from an organic farm in Bienenbttel near Hamburg are the likely source for the outbreak of this newly identified and particularly virulent strain of the E?coli bacterium
Consumers across Europe are shunning fruit and vegetables, with EU farmers claiming losses up to 417m (372m) as ripe produce rots in fields and warehouses. A German warning against eating cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce has now been lifted but remains in place for bean sprouts. In the UK, salad producers have reported a 60% drop in sales since the E?coli crisis began.
Dr Jim Pickard concluded; Most fresh produce growers and processors are acutely aware of the contamination risks surrounding fresh fruit and vegetables and consumers must have full confidence in the products they are buying. There are also ever?increasing demands in the food chain for high quality fresh produce with prolonged shelf life and reduced wastage. FoodScience identified that the industry would benefit from a quality control package at all stages of produce growing, processing and packaging and we have invested considerable resources in creating the Hydromax technology as a safe, non toxic food processing aid.
There are currently few alternatives within the industry which deliver the appropriate level of controllable decontamination. Whilst chlorine has been used in the past, it is no longer in wide use due to the toxic by?products produced. Acid chlorite systems are sometimes employed but rely on imprecise technology and unrefined dosing.
Hydromax is currently being used by a number of food growers and processors of cut lettuce, carrots, parsnips, brussel sprouts and onions. A number of applications on other types of fresh produce are currently being evaluated by FoodScience to meet the growing needs of producers, processors and retailers.
FoodSciences turnover currently sits at over 500,000 for the current financial year, with the business projected to achieve rapid growth over the next 2 to 3 years as it expands its sales and technical support teams.