IQF frozen blueberries have a long life span. They can remain frozen for up to 30 months without loosing any of their flavor or nutrition.
Regardless of the freezing method, our wild blueberries are harvested at their peak of flavour and frozen immediately without preservatives or sugars to ensure the best quality product. |
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Fresh Frozen
During years past and prior to entering the value-added IQF processing sector, the company would typically set aside several thousand kilograms annually to be cleaned (de-leafed, de-stemmed and triple-washed) for block-freezing into 5 lb. consumer packages. It was a tiny first step into a now large-scale commercial operation in Maine.
Frozen
IQF (individually-quick-frozen) wild blueberries remains the product of choice for most market segments as it preserves nutrients more effectively than block frozen processing. Food and beverage processors, bakery operations, dairy companies and growingly the health ingredient sector have accelerated the demand for IQF frozen blueberries by growing consumer awareness of the healthful properties contained in the fruit. Currently, our operations at Franklin will be limited to bulk totes for industrial scale customers and the industry-standard 30 lb carton for food processors. Other pack sizes to supply the food service sector and other specialty market segments are scheduled in the future. Our Franklin operation is one of the few suppliers of IQF frozen blueberries in both uncalibrated (6-14 mm) and calibrated sizes (6-9 mm, 10-11 mm and 12-14 mm).
Organically Certified
We offer a small portion of our annual supply of IQF frozen wild blueberries from organically certified growers in order to participate in this segment of the market. Given the smaller quantity of organic berries as compared to our conventional product inventory, these berries are not typically sized individually. As part of our overall focus on quality assurance and food safety, we ensure that all areas of harvesting, handling, processing, storing and shipping, both from our grower partners and in our own processing facility in Franklin, Me, certified by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) and accredited by USDA, conform to the strictest organic product standards.
Other
Over time we intend to seek further value creation through additional processing capabilities at the Franklin plant such as dried berries and ground powder product for the food and health ingredient market.
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