Apple harvest in Chile

Apples | Dried Fruits and Nuts | Harvest

Pascal Schwarz, Head of Food Industry traveled to Chile to visit our long-standing partner "Agro Cepia". "Agro Cepia" has been our exclusive partner for dried apple products from South America for many years. Whether apple cubes, slices or chips, with or without skin, AgroCepia produces the desired product according to the customer's requirements. Worth noting, is that the production is done only after the order has arrived so as to guarantee the best possible freshness. Requests for special varieties or shell colors can also be taken into account, thanks to a broad network of apple producers Agro Cepia works with.

Quality control during on-going production

Currently, the harvest of the last late apple varieties (e.g., Pink Lady) is running in full swing. Most other varieties have already been harvested and stored in specially designed fruit coolers (with special air composition to put the apples in a kind of "winter sleep"). Thanks to this storage of fresh apples, the finished products do not have to be produced on stock. Freshness of the customer requirement can therefore always be guaranteed.

What was particularly striking during the tour of the premises to conduct a supplier audit, was the brand-new installed system for the infuse-line that will be operational from June. Besides the classical drying, this this new infuse-line will make infusion of apples, blueberries and cherries with juice concentrates or sugar possible in the future.

Pascal Schwarz 
​Division Leader Food Industry