Eden Orchards has secured funding from the Ministry of Primary Industries Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund to trial producing individually quick frozen (IQF) cherries in Alexandra.
The frozen cherry processing pilot stems from earlier work led by the Central Otago District Council (CODC) in collaboration with industry, growers, and food manufactures to make use of more locally grown fruit that would otherwise go to waste.
This trial seeks to develop a commercially viable process to de-stem, de-pit and individually freeze cherries.
Individual quick-frozen cherries are not currently produced in Central Otago or from Central Otago cherries, but it is a common processing use for surplus fresh cherries elsewhere in the world.
“I’m very happy our funding application for this pilot was successful,” General Manager Eden Juice Limited Cameron Bignell, said. “The funding and the collective work undertaken to date has given us the confidence to pilot a new processing technique much sooner than we would have otherwise been able to.”
Frozen cherries retain several of the health benefits of fresh cherries and are growing in popularity for use in smoothies, and as baking ingredients. Currently most frozen cherries available for sale in New Zealand are imported.
Eliana Glover, FSL Managing Director said, “It’s fantastic to see this pilot happening, as a supplier of IQF fruit we are always on the lookout for locally produced fruit and believe there is great market potential for IQF Central Otago cherries.”
Every year on average 2,207 tons of Central Otago cherries is discarded or not harvested due to imperfections and this quantity is expected to increase as new plantings reach peak production.
Eden Juices has been producing juice from Central Otago cherries and berries for local and export markets since 2017.
The earlier work Council in partnership with industry, local growers, and food manufactures involved quantifying the amount of fruit available for processing, identifying existing global products that could be produced, understanding the health benefits and properties, and the opportunity to leverage the New Zealand brand in international markets. The last stage of this work was bringing together commercial parties who were interested in collaborating on new processing options for Central Otago.
“I’m stoked to see the first pilot up and running, CODC Economic Development Manager Nick Lanham, said. “Supporting the growth of more commercial processing of waste fruit is great from a sustainability angle as it reduces the amount of fruit wasted, creates additional revenue streams for growers, and generates more economic activity in the district.”
Alex Huffadine, local grower and project group member said, “Great to see more innovation actually happening in fruit waste recovery in the region. This ticks so many boxes, minimising waste, adding value and employing locals.”
