Vegetable processing method extends shelf life

Viands, a food development company, said the natural method requires no additives or preservatives, a key selling point as consumers have shown a preference for "natural" products. The process could potentially change the way vegetables are processed and delivered to market. The patent-pending process, called Lintonizing, can be used to produce higher-quality vegetable andpotato products, Viands suggests. The food manufacturing process makes fully cooked vegetables appear as though they were freshly cut by reinforcing changing their cellular plant structures, the company said yesterday. Lintonized cooked vegetables can have a refrigerated shelf life from 45 to 60 days, the company estimates. The "fresh cut" label is one of the fastest growing segment in vegetable market. The company claims the Lintonized process could make the 'Fresh Cut' term obsolete by providing a true-replacement to cooking raw vegetables. In addition due to the cellular changes there is little or no acrylamide formation in deep fried potato products. Fully cooked broccoli smells fresh out of the bag even after 30 days ofrefrigeration, the company claims. "There is a dramatic difference between traditionally processed vegetables and those manufactured using the Lintonizing process," Viands' president Brad Dunnington stated. "Thisrevolutionary food process helps vegetables maintain their full flavor, color and texture, and allows food processors to produce much higher quality blanched, roasted, and grilled vegetables thanpreviously available to the market." The company suggests food processors can used Lintonizing to loop fries into a knot or double over cooked potato chip slices without breaking them. Viands is a US food development company. US retail fresh produce sales reached about $50 billion in 2003. In addition, total sales for the potato chip market exceed $6bn. French fry sales for fastfood restaurants account for about $20 billion of total annual revenues. External links to companies or organisations mentioned in this story: Viands Concerted