The Polish fruit salad producer Fructofresh has rejected the accusation that it is using various kinds of preservatives in order to extend the shelf life of the products.
This especially applies to velcorin, the use of which is prohibited in fruit salads. Apparently a French daily falsely reported that Fructofrest fruit salads had been banned in France. Rather, the company continues to supply to French customers, explained CEO Rafael Zwoinski the Friday before last at the Fruit Logistica trade fair in Berlin.
Zwoinski said that, following the allegations, his company had commissioned an independent laboratory to investigate the fruit salads to confirm that they had been produced without preservatives. The result is expected shortly. Zwoinski stressed that the long shelf life was solely due to the company's particularly high hygiene standards and the special technology used in production. He claimed this is also demonstrated by the company's IFS/BRC certification.
Apparently due to long term research and development work in the field of fresh produce, Fructofresh is able to offer preservative-free products with a minimum shelf life of 14 days.
The background is that a test was conducted by a competing company at a wholesaler which found that Fructofresh's fruit juice contained methanol. A court then forbade the wholesaler to sell Fructofresh fruit salads that contain methanol. The competitor took the detection of methanol to indicate that Fructofresh used velcorin. A French daily falsely reported that in France the sale of Fructofresh fruit salads were generally prohibited.
Zwoinski confirms: "Fructofresh has never used velcorin in the production of fruit salad. Our customers have been able to convince themselves of this at various audits. Rather, methanol is always used when processing chopped fruit, which is why it is not forbidden." Fructofresh, according Zwoinski, can avoid preservatives because the company is investing intensively in research and development. He says that in the past, the company had developed above-average hygiene and processing standards in the field of fresh fruits and thereby achieved a unique position in the market. The technology of Fructofresh is based on standardised processes for the reduction of microorganisms that have been developed together with experts in food technology and microbiology.
