News

Cornelius, Milne join forces

18 Apr 2016

Cornelius Group and Milne Fruits have joined forces to supply the European food and drink industry with what they say is an innovative new concept in dried fruit products.

Cornelius Group and Milne Fruits have joined forces to supply the European food and drink industry with what they say is an innovative new concept in dried fruit products.

Milne Fruits is a relative newcomer to the market and uses a technique called MicroDried, which uses vacuum microwave dehydration technology to heat each piece of raw fruit. The process is 100% natural and uses no artificial ingredients, sugars, flavourings, colours or preservatives whilst retaining most of the size and organoleptic appeal of the fruit.

MicroDried ingredients offer more consumer appeal than most other commercial dried products,” said Rachel Fordham, dairy, desserts and beverages sales manager at Cornelius. “They also retain more vital nutrients than other commercial dehydrated and dried fruit solutions.”

MicroDried fruit is described as ideal for breakfast cereals, baked goods, snack chips, smoothies, spreads and juices. They can be packaged as a snack or used as an ingredient or healthy additive to food products which have been developed to meet the needs of today’s health conscious consumer.

Compared to traditional techniques such as freeze dried or IQF, MicroDried products are claimed to look, smell and taste more like fresh fruit. They can be whole and fragmented, offering consumers a greater variety of textures, including chewy or crunchy.

“MicroDried fruit products are unique in that they deliver real fruit colour, flavour and enhanced nutritional performance to consumers,” said Fordham. “Our partner Milne is also working on powdered fruit which can be used as a natural colourant. The demand for powdered fruits is growing particularly within the sports nutrition sector as a low GI carbohydrate source.”

MicroDried fruit products were introduced to the market in the summer of 2012 and include strawberry, berry mix, peach, apricot and cranberry. New flavours include aronia berry, blueberry, mango, pineapple and sweet potato.

“Cornelius is delighted to bring this range of MicroDried fruit to the European market and our partnership with Milne will strengthen relationships with new and existing customers for both companies,” said Fordham. “We look forward to assisting Milne in building their business whilst enhancing the reputation of Cornelius within the food and beverage sector.”