Bonduelle
North America

To produce vigorous plants that will bear healthy, flavourful vegetables, it is essential to provide rich and fertile soil. Once this soil is identified, the best varieties of seeds are developed by agricultural specialists. Last, but not least, agronomists determine the proper moment for seeding.

The condition and growth of the vegetables are continually monitored. When the time for harvesting approaches, maturity tests in the laboratory are carried out several times a day. If the tests are conclusive, harvesting can begin.

After first undergoing a preliminary cleaning, the vegetables are washed so that undesirable vegetable matter is eliminated. An optical sorter identifies and removes any foreign substance.

Vegetables requiring particular cutting are sliced, trimmed and/or seeded, according to need.

Blanching consists of steaming the food (at 93º C), then quickly freezing it in ice water to halt development of its natural enzymes.

Detailed inspection of a sample confirms that the product is satisfactory. Continuous visual examinations ensure that any potentially dangerous substance is removed. If there is any doubt, operations are halted and the product concerned destroyed.

Immediately after blanching, all of the vegetables are transported to flash-freezing tunnels where they are flash frozen individually at temperatures ranging from -30° C and -35C. Following this, the vegetables are placed in bulk in containers, which are then weighed and identified with a bar code. The containers are stored in an environment maintained at -18° C.

After blanching, can-filling machines deposit vegetables in cans. Then, a brine of hot water, and salt and sugar is added to the cans. The contents are sealed and identified with a code. The cans are hermetically sealed by can seamers. The clarity of the code and general appearance of the containers are visually inspected.

Transported by conveyors to retorts, the cans are then preheated to attain the temperature required for commercial sterilization. Then, the high temperature is maintained for the requisite time. A water-cooling system halts the cooking process. Next, an organoleptic analysis of a sample guarantees product quality.

The canned vegetables are then stored for approximately a week, which allows the contents’ watertightness and the sterilization quality to be evaluated. After this incubation period, a precision electronic device measuring deflection rejects all products with insufficient vacuum. Once all of these stages have been completed, the product is stored.