At Salone internazionale del biologico e del naturale-Sana, FreshPlaza talked about it with Flavio Moretti (in the photo below), general manager of Forlive, an Italian company specialized in natural and healthy products.
"Freeze-drying is a particular process that removes water from freshly-harvested food, thus eliminating the need to use preservatives and preventing oxidation. Forlive freeze-dried products include berries and fruit. As soon as they are harvested, they are blast chilled at -40/-80°C with ice sublimation."
"As they are processed immediately after harvesting, they maintain all their nutritional properties and can no longer be attacked by bacteria. The fruit can then be eaten as a snack or re-hydrated (25 grams become 100 grams of fresh products)."
"It's a brand new product, so much so that it has been nominated for the Sana Novità Award."
"The range includes ten products: organic blackberries, organic cranberries, organic raspberries, organic blueberries, organic strawberries, pineapples, dragon fruits, mangoes, mangosteens and papayas. They are all Vegan OK certified and five hold the organic classification. They are available in 25 g white boxes (in the photo above) and 250 g packets. Many vegan chefs are choosing these products as their organoleptic qualities and color remain unaltered.
According to the manager, the added value of freeze-dried fruit is the fact that organoleptic qualities remain intact. "This way, it's possible to eat fresh strawberries on December 31st without them having been grown in greenhouses or fresh pineapples that haven't ripened on the ship."
In Italy, Forlive freeze-dried fruit can be found in herbalist shops, nutritionist shops and shops specializing in natural products. "The target is different abroad. As the products are not cheap, it's still difficult to place them on the traditional market."
