Factory puts pressure on to extend life of avocados

A new company which plans to package avocado halves and guacamole so they can be stored for up to 60 days is seeking investors to open a factory. Photo / NZ Herald

New Zealand avocados could be sold in prepackaged halves or as guacamole that can be stored for as long as 60 days if a company aiming to match the industry's $50 million export value achieves its goals.

Fressure Foods, a new company set up mainly to help cope with an oversupply of avocados expected in about two years, is planning to set up a factory in Pukekohe with technology that can double the shelf-life of a stored avocado.

The company is seeking investors - some of whom will come from within the avocado industry - for the $15 million it needs to open the factory.

Company director John Schnackenberg, speaking independently from his roles as chairman of the Avocado Industry Council and Avocado Growers Association, said he hoped the factory would be up and running by August next year.

He said the technology was expected to boost the avocado industry's profits by about $16 million within its first year, and aimed to match the industry's annual export value of $50 million within five years.

Mr Schnackenberg said the technology could also provide benefits to other growers because the company planned to expand its processing capabilities to other fruit which could include passionfruit, mandarins and feijoas.

He said avocados that otherwise would have flooded the local market would be packaged and sealed in plastic bags before being treated under pressure so high it is equivalent to being in extremely deep seawater.

The pressure of up to 87,000 pounds per square inch would kill any bacteria on the avocados without changing the texture, flavour, consistency or nutrients in the fruit.

Alan Thorn, chief executive of the Avocado Growers Association and the Avocado Industry Council, said the amount of avocados produced in New Zealand was expected to double within three years.

He said the ultra-high-pressure technology would assist in attracting better fruit prices for the country's 1673 growers.

Mr Thorn said avocado growers made the most profit by selling fruit for export, and the new process would help increase the value of their fruit.

Any fruit that did not measure up - for example an avocado that had a blemish on the outside but was fine inside - ended up being sold much cheaper locally, or for avocado oil.

Mr Thorn hopes the chilled, processed fruit will become a popular way to buy avocados in the same way that people can buy fresh or frozen products such as peas.

HIGH-TECH

How ultra-high pressure works:
* Subjects products to 87,000 psi, or pounds per square inch - the equivalent of being in very deep sea.
* The pressure is so great that food-borne pathogens such as listeria, E. coli and salmonella cannot survive, without the need to add preservatives.
* The technology is being used overseas for seafood, ready-to-eat meats, processed fruits and vegetables, fresh juices and smoothies.
* Products would be sold processed, packaged and chilled.