Popcorn made from fruits and vegetables strengthens MiFood's product range

Heart and vascular disease, type 2 diabetes and other diseases of affluence can decrease if people eat healthier, but how do you get consumers to choose fruits and vegetables? MiFood from Venlo makes it simple by developing products that are full of health and as easy to consume as unhealthy snacks. The liquid "Joycies" in a bottle have been available for some time. Now it's the turn of popcorn packed with vitamins, minerals, protein, fiber and antioxidants.

How is it made?

Healthy grains that you can snack on without guilt while driving, walking or couch surfing. At MiFood, they know how to make these "popcorn. The company puts a selection of fruits and vegetables in the blender and distributes the resulting wet mix over a puffed medium, such as oats. After the drying process, another layer of the fruit and vegetable coating is applied. The result is a tasty snack packed with important nutrients.

Vacuum coater

The machine that makes the whole process possible is the vacuum coater from producer Dinnissen. This machine can dry, concentrate and process mixtures of different fruits and vegetables. Thanks to the adjustable vacuum, exactly the right amount of powder or liquid can be applied to each porous product, and then allowed to penetrate deep into the product using vacuum.

An additional advantage is that in a vacuum environment the boiling point of raw materials is lowered. This therefore allows moisture to be extracted from specific products, while fully preserving flavor, color and functional operating ingredients, such as vitamins, minerals, flavorings and enzymes. "In the past, mashing took ten minutes, causing the temperature to rise to 80 to 100 degrees Celsius. Now it takes one minute and the temperature rises from 22 to 22.3 degrees," says Raymond Nolet of MiFood in a interview with De Limburger.

Science

The technique ensures that nutrients are preserved during production. At the same time, the health effects of these nutrients are examined within a scientific study. Maastricht University analyzes hundreds of ingredients of fruits and vegetables, as well as the interaction of these substances with the immune system of humans. This gives MiFood an answer to the question of whether the consumption of their products actually has a positive influence on health.

Last Step

Raymond Nolet has complete confidence in the results of the scientific research. Next is a new, uncertain step: the commercial marketing. There is contact with retail companies, but the marketing is still a question mark. This applies not only to the new healthy granules, but also to the previously launched healthy drinks. For now, the Joycie can only be ordered online in four varieties and is in a local company canteen here and there. To expand this, the content story must be told well. Nolet: "Once the research at Maastricht University has been completed, we will focus on sales for an oil slick effect of preventive health."

More about MiFood? Then read our MiFood case from last summer. Or visit the company website. We also recently spoke about the role of Limburg agri-food in disease prevention with Carmen Houben, lecturer in Healthy Living at HAS University of Applied Sciences.