Donny Boy Fresh Food Company is proving there’s nothing backward about organic. On the contrary, it has combined advanced technology with no artificial ingredients and sustainable farming to create a new breed of organic and healthy products.
Andrew Gibb, Donny Boy’s MD, said the decision to go ‘high pressure’ was driven by customers and consumers wanting fresher, less processed, more nutritional foods.
”We’re the first company in Australia to make commercial products from HPP processes, the first company in the world to supply the dairy industry with fruit processed using HPP, and the first in the world to create HPP ‘single variety’ fruit juices,” he said.
He added that creating juices using HPP technology is a more gentle process than the pasteurisation system currently favoured by the juice industry, and one that allows subtle tastes to be retained.
Donny Boy will be the first company ever to differentiate ‘one ingredient’ fruit juice flavours from the generic offerings which are currently the on-shelf standard. ”This is how we’ve been able to create single variety juices!” said Gibb. ”In the apple juice category, we’ll now be able to offer ‘Fuji’ apple juice, or ‘Granny Smith’ apple juice (for example), and people will be able to discern a noticeable difference in the flavours.”
The HPP process – which subjects food to intense pressures of up to 600 MPa (~87,000 psi) using water surrounding the food package, and doesn’t rely on the extreme heat generated in pasteurisation – could leave food containing up to twice the levels of antioxidants than pasteurised alternatives.
”The nutrients are not being cooked out of the product,” said Gibb. “Our products go in at 3-5 degrees and come out at that same temperature.
Research has shown that because HPP doesn’t disrupt chemical bonds, not only are the nutrient and flavour components of food left intact, but the final product is likely to be fresher, with a crisper texture, higher nutritional value, and fresher colour than thermally processed goods, and with no ‘cooked flavour’.
Donny Boy will now join a small group of products which are successfully processed using HPP methods for commercial markets globally, including:
Currently, HPP goods tend to be high value, specialised products with premium prices.
Opportunities reportedly exist for the technology’s use in nutraceuticals, functional food ingredients and heat-sensitive products such as seafood.
Source: Biological Farmers of Australia
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