Brand Studio for Knorr
Dehydrated foods
have many benefits
.
The process makes it possible to preserve them with their
nutrients for longer
and
preserve their flavor;
it respects the natural cycle of the vegetables typical of each season with supplies throughout the year;
and they are
easy to store.
The process that is carried out does not require the addition of preservatives.
The technique can be applied to vegetables, fruits, meat and fish, among other foods.
In the case of
vegetables, the process at an industrial level is carried out in hot air ovens
to evaporate and reduce its moisture content approximately between 6 and 8%.
The first step is
to peel the raw vegetable
, then you have to
wash it
.
It continues with the manual selection of some leftovers, sticks or waste from the plant that the vegetable may contain, then it is
cubed or chopped to proceed to the dehydration stage
.
The
next step
is to place the vegetables in a dish to
send them to the ovens
, a process that takes up to four hours.
As vegetables have water in a good part of their composition, about
1,000 kilograms of squash will be reduced to 100 kilograms of dehydrated squash
.
In the case of
tomato, the 1,000 kilos will be 40 kilograms
at the end of the industrial process.
Finally, the vegetables are packaged in biodegradable bags to take them to the storage centers and their subsequent shipment to the Pilar Plant where
the Knorr broths and soups are made
.
This is how your food works.
The
drying process is decisive
, it allows to preserve the
nutrients and the flavor of the vegetables without adding preservatives
.
Dehydrating extends shelf life without the need to refrigerate, allows rehydration of the vegetable on the minute and in a short time, reduces storage space, facilitates transportation, and reduces waste.
This is how the largest plant in Argentina works
Knorr, Unilever's leading food brand, has a history of more than 50 years in Argentina providing practical solutions to inspire you to make delicious and varied meals, cook easier and eat better.
Knorr invites you to discover its dehydrated products plant in Mendoza.
The
Knorr dehydrated food plant in Mendoza
smells of fresh vegetables ready to be baked, combined with meat or used in a tuco.
There the brand opened the doors of its kitchen, to show the complete production process.
This plant
receives the fresh vegetables from the farms
and on the same day starts the procedure to take them to the steam drying oven, package them and distribute them.
Its products reach 8 out of 10 homes
for the food of Argentines.
The company's industrial complex is located in one of the main productive corridors of Greater Mendoza, in Guaymallén.
It is an environment of farms and rural neighborhoods, where horticulture coexists with fields of vineyards, olive trees and wineries.
It is
the only Unilever dehydrator in the world and the largest in Argentina
.
The dehydrating process reduces the size and weight of food.
The crops come from farms in Mendoza, San Juan and Córdoba, which
generates employment between the fields and the factory for more than 400 families in the area,
contributing to the development of the community.
The vegetables are grown, harvested and dehydrated with a
sustainable production system
.
Most of the vegetables are in areas with little rainfall and good sun exposure, with an annual average rainfall of 200 millimeters per year, which allows a higher concentration of solids and less energy consumption in the dehydration process.
Directly from the producer,
15,000 tons of raw vegetables arrive per year, which translates into 3,200 dehydrated vegetables
between flakes, granules and powder.
The main crops that are dehydrated are carrots, pumpkins, spinach, basil, cabbage, leeks, tomatoes, garlic, potatoes, red peppers, onions, and sweet potatoes.
The crops come from farms in Mendoza, San Juan and Córdoba.
The vegetables go through a careful mechanical process in three production lines, operated and assisted by workers, with all the sanitary and bromatological controls.
“
100% of the vegetables we use with the Knorr brand are national
.
That did not happen a few years ago when, for example, garlic was brought from China”, says María Bulla, manager of Corporate Responsibility and Social Impact of Unilever Argentina.
local producers
In Mendoza the vegetables are grown and harvested by local farmers
and from there they go directly to the plant.
“
Our dehydrated vegetables have no additives, salt or preservatives
.
What arrives at the table of each Argentine is the same vegetable that is in the plant”, explains Ana Hernández Hermida, Brand Manager of Knorr Argentina.
Mendoza producer José Gámez, owner of the Los Almendros farm, in Maipú, with 37 hectares devoted to growing vegetables, is in the middle of the pumpkin harvest season.
He tells of his experience in the production of pumpkins, peppers, spinach and tomatoes with this brand: "Being able to
work with Unilever gives us technology and access to national and international markets
," he affirms.
Pumpkin harvest time.
The farms are modernized with drip irrigation, which saves 30% of water in production and work is being done to make distribution routes more efficient in order to save 15 tons of CO2 per month.
The quality of all the products remains intact thanks to its dehydration process that allows the nutrients of the vegetables to be preserved and their flavor to be preserved.
Sustainability
Knorr works together with INTA Luján de Cuyo to achieve
technological developments for crops that take care of the environment and the community,
which is why its vegetables come from farms that work with regenerative agriculture principles.
The farms are modernized with drip irrigation.
“
Our products are present in 80% of homes in Argentina.
We want to inspire more people to eat better, to incorporate more variety and quantity of vegetables, promoting a more conscious and healthy diet”, says Hernández Hermida.
Claudio Galmarini, a specialist in genetic improvement of vegetables from INTA, said that they have been working in partnership with Unilever for more than 30 years.
And he clarified that the varieties used in the dehydrated plant are not the same as those seen in greengrocers, they are
varieties of vegetables developed for dehydrating
, such as Aconcagua squash, Nara carrot and Alfredo onion.
“We are
collaborating in the transition towards regenerative agriculture
, a way of producing that respects the ways that nature regenerates itself.
Respecting the environmental conditions in which it is produced, preserving soil fertility, soil biodiversity, and conserving water, the main problem in our region," says the INTA engineer.
From Unilever, in addition to producing crops with sufficient yield and nutritional quality,
a policy of waste and sustainable energy use is promoted
where a large part of the products are dispatched without going through the distribution center.
"We reduce the use of 19 trucks per month, and we generate savings in emissions equivalent to 15 tons of CO2," the company specified.
